Urban poor also to get 3 decimal land: Jitan Ram Manjhi

MOTIHARI: Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has announced that poor people living in urban areas will also be given 3 decimal land like poor mahadalits get in rural areas.

"Like poor mahadalits in rural areas, the poor living in urban areas will also get 3 decimal plot," Manjhi said at a function at Panchpakri village in Motihari, headquarters of East Champaran district of Bihar, yesterday.

Former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had launched a scheme for mahadalits, a sub section within dalits who fall in the category of poorest among poor, five years ago, under which 3 decimal land was provided to them for housing.

Around 2.46 lakh landless mahadalit families have been identified as beneficiaries in the scheme.

The government in the last Assembly session had said in reply to a question that 2.21 lakh families have been distributed plots for housing till 2013-14 and remaining 25,679 landless Mahadalit families would get it soon.

Manjhi is on two-day tour of Motihari since yesterday. Manjhi, who himself hails from mahadalit section, had handed over papers of 3 decimal land to five mahadalit families later in a symbolic way on the occasion.

In an another major announcement, the Bihar chief minister said that villages of even 100 people would be linked with metallic road.

Prior to this announcement, the JD(U) government in the state was working to link villages and habitats having a minimum population of 250.