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Bettiah Raj flags encroachment, seeks action in Bettiah circle
In a letter to the circle officer (CO), Anil Kumar Sinha, the manager, has pointed that a vast tract of land under Khasra number 5,238 in Vishwamitra market area belongs to the Bettiah Raj where 202 encroachers have built buildings and commercial establishments
The manager of Bettiah Raj has written to the Bettiah Circle Officer (CO), flagging encroachments on the Raj properties in the Vishwamitra market area and seeking administrative action to remove encroachers.
In a letter to the circle officer (CO), Anil Kumar Sinha, the manager, has pointed that a vast tract of land under Khasra number 5,238 in Vishwamitra market area belongs to the Bettiah Raj where 202 encroachers have built buildings and commercial establishments.
“Therefore, you are requested to take initiative to remove the encroachment and free the Bettiah Raj land,” the letter, undersigned by Sinha, reads. The development came barely a few days after the removal of 55 encroachers near Checkpost area on Bettiah Areraj road in Bettiah early this month.
One of the biggest principalities in Bihar, the Bettiah Raj is spread over West Champaran, Chhapra, East Champaran, Patna, Siwan and Gopalganj district of Bihar, besides eight districts of Uttar Pradesh before they were vested with the Bihar government. It has 14,251 acres of land in Bihar, including 7,640 acres in East Champaran and 122 acres in Uttar Pradesh, according to the records last updated in 1897.
However, over the decades, a significant portion of this land has come under encroachment by local residents, traders and other entities. In many cases, the absence of updated land records, weak enforcement and local disputes have allowed such occupations to persist and expand.
According to officials, while 3,329.12 acres of land has been found to under the illegal occupation by 10,891 encroachers in West Champaran, 1,651 acres of land is encroached in East Champaran district over the years. Among the 16 circles, with 384.09 acres of land Lauria leads the pack in West Champaran, followed by Bagaha - 2 (356.46 acres), Narkatiaganj (304.18 acres) and Piprasi (304.12 acres).
The issue gained renewed attention in 2024 when the Bihar government passed a bill to take over Bettiah Raj properties explicitly for public welfare purposes. The move was seen as an attempt to streamline control over the estate’s vast and scattered assets and to address the long-standing problem of encroachment.
For a change, the Bihar government has been contemplating formulation of a new policy to deal with those jamabandi, leases of land to the individuals and other cases of encroachment.
“It’s getting increasingly difficult to clear the encroachment as it has become a sensitive issue due to the number of families involved and the existence of long-standing structures,” said a senior officer, who asked not to be identified.
