Patna, Nov. 25: Identifying land disputes as the root of all ailments afflicting Bihar for decades, chief minister Nitish Kumar today came out with a roadmap for eight years to settle them.

“We will introduce a bill in the coming session of the state legislature to complete the survey of lands across the state in the next three years. The survey over, the government will carry out land consolidation in the next five years,” the chief minister said, presenting his sixth annual report card detailing his second term’s performance in the past one year.

Nitish pointed out that the land surveys were carried out nearly a hundred years ago. The related records scripted in the archaic language were hard to decipher today.

“We will carry out the survey and update records in a modern way, involving computers so that people are updated with the holdings in their possession. The exercise will solve most of the disputes,” Nitish said. Then, the consolidation of land would help the government expedite the rainbow revolution it has dreamt of, he added.

The root of all miseries identified, Nitish brought joy for doctors and university teachers by extending their retirement age from 62 to 65 years.

Though health and education are the government’s priority areas, the chief minister iterated that the agriculture sector constituted the main road of development. “That agriculture has been our priority is evident from the fact that we constituted a 14-department agriculture cabinet.”

Bringing into play his socialist way of working, Nitish rooted for the desi and rejected all ventures trying to prosper at the cost of the indigenous farmers, retailers, small vegetable and grain vendors besides the state’s culture and environment. He announced a policy to promote the indigenous nurseries to produce plants conducive to the soil and climate of the state.

Nitish’s sixth report card — the first in his second tenure — made it abundantly clear that the Opposition was left with few weapons to attack him. The RJD — the main opposition party — used to issue a parallel report card till the last year. But it did not show any activity this time, though it said it would come out with a report tomorrow.

Though Lalu Prasad attacked the government’s report card without much substance while leaving to campaign in Lokaha Assembly seat, the RJD was apparently not prepared for the day. Nitish, too, for the first time, did not mention the Opposition in his address.

Obliquely referring to the team Anna or others “guiding” him in his efforts to check corruption and develop the state, Nitish said: “I neither take sermons from the mounts nor give them from the top. I derive the clues to make the state free from corruption and take it on the path of prosperity by consistently meeting my people and discussing with them.”

He described his Seva Yatra as the “best learning process” which allowed him to see if the people were benefiting from his rule.

Nitish also reeled off statistics to show how infant mortality rate had gone down.

He admitted that he was unable to achieve the desired results in the arena of human resource and industries because of hurdles from the Centre or other quarters.