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Indian Express
01-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
How Bihar is trying to get control of erstwhile Bettiah zamindari property in UP – one plot, bank safe at a time
On the first floor of a residential building in the posh Shiv Vihar Colony of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, a group of officials are busy sifting through piles of documents, frequently consulting one another and checking for regular updates. For around two months now, the 11 Bihar revenue officials have been working out of this temporary office of the Bihar Court of Wards with an unusual purpose – to identify, measure, and meticulously record details of tracts of land in Uttar Pradesh that, according to Bihar government records, belong to the Bettiah Raj, a 17th Century zamindari estate with origins in the state's Champaran region. 'We have been consulting land records from the 18th and 19th Century in the Bettiah Raj revenue record room (a repository of historical land records related to the erstwhile zamindari estate in Bihar's West Champaran),' says one of the officials. 'We then match the historical records to current revenue records in the state. We have so far identified 175.53 acres of Bettiah Raj land in Uttar Pradesh but officials are still reviewing documents and updating the list.' The temporary office of the Bihar Court of Wards in Shiv Vihar Colony in Gorakhpur. (Express Photo: Vishal Srivastava) The tedious exercise comes in the wake of the Vesting of Bettiah Raj Properties Act, 2024, that the Bihar government passed late last year. The law allows the Bihar government to not only take control of over 15,000 acres of Bettiah Raj land in Bihar but also parcels in eight UP districts: Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Ayodhya, Basti, Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Mirzapur. Earlier in April, the Bihar government held meetings with district administration of the eight districts to enlist their help. 'They were asked to check their land records for any properties belonging to the Bettiah Raj,' says Badri Prasad Gupta, a revenue officer from Bihar's Board of Revenue and one of the officials overseeing the exercise, adding that they have yet to receive inputs. Revenue Officer Badri Prasad Gupta in Bihar Court of Wards temporary office in Shiv Vihar Colony in Gorakhpur. (Express Photo by Vishal Srivastava) Prayagraj's Chief Revenue Officer Kunwar Pankaj confirmed that a team from Bihar was currently in the city. 'All eight tehsils in Prayagraj have been asked to verify if any property exists under this name. They have been given time until May 4,' he says. Gorakhpur's Chief Revenue Officer Amit Rathore too confirmed this, saying that further action would be taken according to instructions from higher authorities. He added that he had no information about the findings of the Bihar revenue team in Gorakhpur. Officials at UP's Board of Revenue refused to comment on the matter. What is Bettiah land Spread across six districts in Bihar and eight in UP, Bettiah Raj is one of the oldest and largest zamindaris in the Champaran region. The zamindars of Bettiah were among those who were given the title of 'raja' by the Mughals. After the last king of Bettiah Raj, Harendra Kishore Singh, died heirless in 1893, the estate passed on to his first wife Maharani Sheo Ratna Kunwar, who died in 1896. The property then went to his second wife, Maharani Janki Kunwar. In 1897, the British administration declared Maharani Janki 'incompetent to manage the property' and placed it under the estate of the Court of Wards, a legal body created under Court of Wards Act that empowered them to take over and manage the estates of minors. Those deemed incapable, or otherwise disqualified from handling their property. Maharani Janki Kunwar died in 1954. Bettiah land in Uttar Pradesh. (Credits: Abhishek Mitra) Following India's independence, the Court of Wards came under the control of the Board of Revenue. While Bettiah Raj properties in UP came to be managed by the UP Court of Wards, those in Bihar were managed by the Bihar Court of Wards. In 1969, the UP Court of Wards was dissolved, and since then, properties in Bihar as well as UP have been managed by the Bihar Court of Wards. In November 2024, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar introduced the Bettiah Raj law, transferring all its properties to the government. While introducing the law in the Assembly, Bihar's Land and Revenue Department Minister Dilip Jaiswal claimed the government had decided to legally take over the land after a pan-Bihar survey revealed 'huge mismanagement and encroachment' on the land. 'We needed to bring a law as it had been getting difficult to manage the land, especially since there were complaints of encroachment,' he had said then. Mapping land, cross-checking revenue records Two teams have been deployed in UP to conduct the exercise. While revenue officer Gupta's team of 11 is responsible for identifying land in Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Ayodhya and Basti districts, the second team – of seven officials headed by Sanjeev Kumar Rai – is in charge of Varanasi, Prayagraj, and Mirzapur. A team typically has a revenue officer from the Board of Revenue, a lekhpal, a revenue accountant and the village record keeper, and an ameen — an officer responsible for assessing and collecting land revenue. It also has technical experts, peons, legal advisors, and security staff. According to officials, the process of identification of such land is meticulous: after confirming from records and official government certificates that a particular piece of land belongs to the Bettiah estate, officials head there to measure the land and note down its dimensions. Then, local revenue records are consulted to see under whose name the land is registered. 'We speak to the current occupants, and record their details in our report,' says an official, adding that this report is then sent to the Bihar Revenue Board. How Bihar is trying to get control of the Bettiah land in Uttar Pradesh. (Credits: Abhishek Mitra) Since the process could take months, teams have rented office spaces in Gorakhpur, Prayagraj and Varanasi. According to Bihar officials, several of the identified land have some form of construction on them – from parks, and 'unauthorised' residential colonies to even government buildings and roads. This includes such offices as those of the Gorakhpur divisional commissioner, the additional district magistrate, the chief medical officer, and the magistrate – as well as official government quarters, officials say. 'In all, nine residences of senior government officials have been identified on Bettiah Raj properties in Gorakhpur,' says an official. But the process is not always smooth sailing, with the team having to face hostility from local residents, who fear the loss of land and homes. For instance, in Betiahata in Gorakhpur, where Bihar officials have identified over 51 acres, a crowd gathers to prevent the officials from proceeding for their survey. 'Usually, we inform the residents that the Bihar government is identifying its own land,' an officer tells The Indian Express as their car leaves the troubled spot. 'If that doesn't work, we leave quietly without any confrontation. At times, we work with a police team and a lekhpal assigned to us by the district administration.' For now, the Bihar government has already begun the process of clearing 'encroachments' on such land: with the help of a local lawyer, notices have gone to 73 people for 'wrongfully' having their name registered on land that belongs to the Bihar government. They have also filed a civil case in the court of the Gorakhpur Sub-Divisional Magistrate's court to reclaim the property. Among the properties the Bihar officials are conducting inquiries about is a bank safe that is listed as Bettiah Raj property. The safe is at a State Bank of India branch in Prayagraj – the city Maharani Janki Kunwar is believed to have spent her final days. 'Our records mention a safe at the bank,' Prasad says. 'We are in touch with the bank staff, and formalities are underway, but we have no idea what's inside the safe.'
Hindustan Times
25-04-2025
- Climate
- Hindustan Times
Power blues for Lucknow residents amid soaring temps, increased demand
Amid soaring temperatures and increased power demand in the state capital, residents continue to face frequent outages despite repeated promises over the past five years by different ministers to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply. This year, the state government has spent ₹400 crore under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) to upgrade the power infrastructure, but power cuts persist across Lucknow, much like previous years. Despite promises of rapid upgrades, the work under RDSS to replace old, dangling wires with modern armoured cables continues to be sluggish. The project, now in its second phase of implementation, is forcing routine shutdowns across 7 to 10 localities every day. These power cuts, which often stretch from four to eight hours, are frequently carried out without prior notice, leaving residents unprepared, especially during peak daytime heat. In the past week alone, power demand in Lucknow surged by 400 megawatts, with Lucknow Electricity Supply Administration (LESA) reporting a demand of 1,564 MW on Thursday. According to officials, this figure may climb to 2,000 MW in the coming days. While residents are facing short but increasingly frequent outages, the feeder system design is also contributing to larger-scale power disruptions. Each feeder connects 10 to 15 transformers, and when maintenance or faults occur in a single transformer, the entire cluster must be shut down to ensure worker safety. As a result, even minor issues are now affecting more households than before. 'We are witnessing more than five power cuts during the daytime,' said Vishal Srivastava, a resident of Hardoi Road. 'Sub-station staff say that the sudden spike in demand is overloading equipment, causing low-voltage issues and frequent outages.' Rajat Juneja, LESA chief engineer and RDSS in-charge for Lucknow, acknowledged the problem, but maintained complete shutdowns are necessary for safety. 'There is always a risk of electrocution during cable replacement or fault repairs, so shutdowns are essential. However, we are trying to minimise power cuts.'
