New Delhi: Given that land is a sensitive topic in agrarian Bihar, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary’s statement that there is no deadline for completion of its survey shows the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) fear of backlash from backward communities ahead of the state elections.
The discomfiture stems from the fact that though the land digitisation initiative is of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is known for his bold, progressive steps like liquor ban and caste survey, the land and revenue department is with the BJP in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
On 3 July, while handing over appointment letters to nearly 10,000 contractual surveyors to cover 45,000 villages for digitising land records, the CM gave a clarion call to the officials to complete the land survey before the polls in 2025.
But as confusion and panic spread among the people over submitting documents to authenticate land ownership in the last two months, the BJP has now taken proactive steps to dispel misgivings among the people about the survey.
Two days ago, Choudhary told a Hindi news channel that the government would continue the exercise till the people arranged their document to authenticate their ownership. “There’s no reason to panic,” he added.
This statement also comes in the backdrop of the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and its leader Tejashwi Yadav trying to make political capital out of the difficulties being faced by the masses such as bribing officials. Political consultant Prashant Kishor, too, is calling out corruption of land officials in arranging and verifying documents, including Khatiyan (records of rights) .
Even NDA ally and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi cautioned Nitish about the growing complaints of corruption against land officials. A concerned BJP is making every effort to calm down the people’s anger. BJP state chief and minister incharge of land and revenue Dilip Jaiswal has made his contact number public so that the people can reach out to him directly.
“The move is a good step, but it can damage alliance electoral prospects due to people’s anger, particularly backward caste,” a BJP leader told The Print.
Ever since the news of the land digitisation process spread in Bihar, the people have been queuing before the land department to verify their records. Offices of sarpanchs, panchayat bhavans and courts are now teeming with anxious people looking to arrange their Khatiyan.
What has pushed the masses to the edge is that until now, the ownership is mostly informal as the plots were handed over to the next generations of families without proper documentation.
Primarily, Khatiyan has records of rights related to Khata (account) number, Kheasara (plot) number, tenant’s name, among others. In the absence of Khatiyan, land owners find it tough to get Vanshavali (genealogy) information that has to be submitted along with other documents getting their plots surveyed.
The BJP’s apprehension surrounding the land survey project is not unfounded given its experience in Gujarat, or the developments in Andhra Pradesh.
These two states were among the first to join the bandwagon of land reforms when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP) in 2016.
Two years on, the BJP suspended the survey in Gujarat after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made it a hue and cry before the polls. Similarly, the erstwhile Jagan Mohan Reddy government faced the ire of the electorate in Andhra Pradesh. Soon after Chandrababu Naidu took over in June, he reversed the decision to hold the digital survey project.
But, Nitish is firm on the grounds that digitising land records would benefit Bihar as a major chunk of law and order problems involve land rights and disputes.
Aviral Pandey, assistant professor at Patna’s A N Sinha Institute of Social Studies, told ThePrint that land ownership passed down orally is the most challenging factor at large.
“There is no document to prove that the plot belongs to one person and if it has been sold by his brother. Even those who sold their portions are claiming their pie as in paper they still have the right. Similarly, people are clueless in cases where their fathers have passed away and the land is being handled by their uncles. If land is not divided and there is no document, getting NOC from the second generation becomes a challenge as well,” he explained.
Another challenge is land survey in riverine areas where floods occur annually and rivers changing their course, Pandey asserted.
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Dalit anger a worry
”It (land survey) was long due… The land digitisation project will ultimately benefit people as most land records will be updated. Cost of land will increase once the ownership record is updated digitally. Sale and purchase of land will be easier. Most of the disputes in Bihar have been due to land,” a Bihar BJP general secretary told ThePrint.
“But the problem is the affluent upper castes and economically better-off OBCs will update their records by arranging documents and spending money, while those from the Most Backward Castes (MBCs) and Dalits who don’t have access to technology are suffering most. They are going on rounds to make their Vanshavali and get documents from the department. This decision can backfire if difficulties persist and that is why the BJP appeals again and again to aware people to minimise damage.”
A former BJP minister, who worked with Nitish, told ThePrint that the party has cautioned the JD(U) about difficulties the people are facing from this digitisation process.
“But as the CM known for his progressive steps without considering fallout or small setbacks, he is not keen to abandon or stop the project. When liquor ban was imposed despite opposition from the Dalits, Nitish did not back out as he was convinced that the women who suffer daily will support his decision,” the former BJP minister said.
“Similarly, on caste survey, many leaders were sceptical of fallout, but Nitish was convinced that it would help in consolidation of his constituency of EBCs, Maha Dalits. So, Nitish is convinced that land digitisation is a landmark decision for the state’s growth and that the people will finally appreciate his decision in the long run.”
With Nitish firm on his decision, a concerned BJP has enhanced its public outreach to protect its support and Jaiswal, the revenue and land reforms department minister, has himself taken the onus to reach out to the people.
“There is no need to worry about land survey; the government stands with the people.The Revenue and Land Reforms Department is standing with the public to solve any problem arising in the ongoing land survey. Even if you lack documents, you can still self-declare your ownership of the land. Also, there is no need for verification by anyone else for the genealogy, you can prepare the genealogy yourself and self-declare,” he posted on social media platform ‘X’.
On Saturday, Jaiswal reassured the people that the Bihar government has not fixed any deadline for declaration of their receipt of land.
“There is a fear among the people that their land will be forfeited if they are unable to produce papers. Many of the land ownership are oral like a father allots a plot to his son and gives another to his other son for cultivation without documentation. It’s a challenge to arrange documents in a state like Bihar,” BJP state spokesperson Arvind Singh conceded to ThePrint.
A JD(U) general secretary, too, admitted that the party leaders are concerned about the growing public anger and that they fear that the land digitisation process can disturb social fabric.
“NOC from daughters is a contentious issue, especially given that it becomes an excuse for their husbands to coerce the-laws to cough up more dowry. Or say, NOCs have to be taken from children, if the daughters are no more,” the JD(U) general secretary explained to ThePrint.
Another JD(U) general secretary Ranvijay Singh told ThePrint that the people had raised several issues about the land digitisation problem. “The CM is aware of these concerns, and the party is making every effort to resolve them.”
But a third JD(U) functionary explained that Nitish is seemingly looking to consolidate his voter base comprising women as there are several legal judgements that secures daughters’ right in their fathers’ property.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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