Nitish Kumar
Patna: The Nitish government is considering taking over land worth about Rs 7,960 crore belonging to the estate of Bettiah Raj, who participated in the state’s biggest zamindari. A large part of this land has been invaded. A senior official said that this entire exercise is being carried out to ensure effective protection and management of approximately 15,358 acres of land. Most of this land is located in the East and West Champaran districts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Managed by the ‘Neighborhood Court’
Currently, this property is managed by the “Court of Chambers” of the Board of Revenue, Government of Bihar. According to data collected by the Board of Revenue till December 13 last year, 6,505 acres (around 66 per cent) of the total land of ‘Bettiah Estate’ in West Champaran district have been encroached upon. On the other hand, 3,219 acres or about 60 per cent of the land have been encroached upon in East Champaran. “The state government is considering taking over the entire property of Bettiah Raj,” Board of Revenue chairman and member KK Pathak had said in an order passed in October in connection with a case involving a land in West Champaran.” “And a bill (to this effect) is likely to be introduced in the next session of the Legislature, in December 2024.”
The property will be under the control of the Department of Revenue and Land Reform.
“Once the bill is passed, the entire property will come under the control of the state revenue and land reform department,” the official said. The Bihar government has already started the process of removing the encroachment. This will accelerate further.” According to the ‘Court of Chambers’ office, the value of Bettiah Raj’s land property is Rs 7,957.38 crore. Of the total 15,358.60 acres of land, 15,215.33 acres are in Bihar and 143.26 acres are in Uttar Pradesh. According to officials, a large part of the land of erstwhile Bettiah Raj has been encroached upon over the years.
instructions to free yourself from the invasion
A land survey is underway in Bihar and the state government has directed officials to mark Bettiah Raj’s land and free it from encroachment. The Bihar government is carrying out a special land survey to update the land records of the state. Harendra Kishore Singh, the last king of Bettiah Raj, died on 26 March 1893. He had no successor. Raja Harendra Kishore Singh had two wives: Maharani Shiv Ratna Kunwar and Maharani Janaki Kunwar. His first wife, Shiv Ratna Kunwar, died in 1896. Maharani Janaki Kunwar was reportedly found unable to manage the property, so it was managed by the “Guardianship Court”. Maharani Janaki Kunwar died in 1954. Apart from East and West Champaran districts, Bettiah Raj also had lands in Gopalganj, Siwan, Patna and Saran districts of Bihar.
Harendra Kishore Singh, the last Maharaja of Bettiah
Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh was the last Maharaja of Bettiah. They did not have any children. He died on 24 March 1893. After his death, the British government prohibited the sale of Bettiah Raj’s property. His second wife remained in the Bettiah royal family until 27 November 1954. Bettiah Raj ceased to exist after the death of Maharani Janaki Kunwar in 1954. Thousands of lands and palaces spread over hundreds of acres of Bettiah Raj in Bihar- UP officially came under the government. Bettiah Raj’s land has been under illegal occupation for years.
