Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday conceded that the land revenue department is responsible for the delay in the appointment of amins, who measure plots of land for official documentation.
He intervened in a question asked by Nand Kishore Yadav, who pointed out that over 1,800 posts of amins were vacant for the past five years causing difficulty in acquiring land for government projects and settling land disputes in the state.
Land revenue minister Madan Mohan Jha admitted there was a shortage of amins but stated that the Bihar Subordinate Selection Commission (BSSC) had two years ago shortlisted the names of 820 people but the department selected only three.
Nand Kishore Yadav of the BJP dubbed the minister's answer as abhoothporva (unprecedented).
"I presume the department fixes the eligibility of candidates they require and gives it to the BSSC. How can the department select only three of the 820 candidates?" he asked.
Nitish intervened that it was a mistake on behalf of the department.
"As an afterthought, the department asked for amin certificates from the selected candidates. These days nobody studies the subject. Every time I hold a review meeting of the department I raise the issue. I even advocated for regularisation of amins working on contract. However, I was told that nothing could be done. The process of appointment will begin again," he said.
Arsenic and fluoride
PHED minister Krishnan Nandan Prasad Verma informed the House that 961 villages in Bihar spread out in 13 districts are arsenic-hit, while 3,457 villages in 11 districts are hit by fluoride drinking water.
He was responding to a question in the Assembly by Bhai Birendra of the RJD, who alleged that 90,000 new cancer patients were detected every year and one of the main reasons was non-availability of safe drinking water.
The minister said during the current financial year, micro-treatment plants have been installed in 177 villages and another 100 deep tubewells have been sunk to provide villagers safe drinking water.
"Safe drinking water is among the seven resolves of chief minister Nitish Kumar. In the next three years we will provide safe drinking water to all the villages in Bihar," he said.
However, the opposition took exceptions to the minister's statement that the government would slowly provide safe drinking water to all villages.
"Do you want a few more lakh people to die of cancer?" asked BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav, adding that as per government claim only 177 villages have been provided safe drinking water.
During the zero hour, BJP MLAs created a ruckus over various sections such as college teachers, Anganbari Sevika, homeguards and others agitating for their demand and the government not negotiating with them.
