Perhaps one of the last privy purses, the erstwhile princely estate of Bettiah Raj, one of the largest zamindari of Bihar, will now be assimilated in the property owned by the State government. According to a notification issued in the Bihar Gazette decks have been cleared for complete takeover of 15,358 acres of land belonging to the Bettiah princely State by the Bihar administration.

Out of a total of 15,358.60 acres of land, 15,215.33 acres is in Bihar and 143.26 acres is in Uttar Pradesh. According to officials, a large chunk of land that came under the erstwhile Bettiah Raj has been encroached upon over the years.

The ‘Vesting of Bettiah Raj Properties Act-2024’s gazette notification dated December 11 followed a bill passed by the state legislature in the winter session last month. Earlier, properties of the estate were managed by the Court of Wards, Board of Revenue (Bihar Government).

The last raja of Bettiah Raj, Harendra Kishore Singh, died heirless on March 26, 1893, leaving behind two widows, Maharani Sheo Ratna Kunwar and Maharani Janki Kunwar. Maharani Sheo Ratna Kunwar who succeeded to the estate of Raja Harendra Kishore Singh on his death as his senior widow died on March 24, 1896 and on her death Maharani Janki Kunwar became entitled to the possession of the estate. Since it was reportedly found that Maharani Janki Kunwar was not able to administer the estate, its management was taken over by the Court of Wards.

Cities in Bihar where land belonging to Bettiah Estate are located include: 9758.72 acres in West Champaran, 5320.51 acres in East Champaran, 35.58 acres in Gopalganj, 7.29 acres in Siwan, 4.81 acres in Patna, 88.41 acres in Saran.

Similarly, cities in Uttar Pradesh where land belonging to Bettiah Estate are located include: Kushinagar (61.16 acres), Maharajganj (7.53 acres), Varanasi (10.13 acres), Gorakhpur (50.92 acres), Basti (6.21 acre), Allahabad (4.54 acre), Ayodhya (1.86 acre).

“All the existing properties, to the knowledge of the court and being looked after by the court, of the Bettiah Raj, located in or outside the state of Bihar, whether movable or immovable, shall stand vested with the state government from the date on which this Act comes into force. Bettiah Raj Properties means and includes all movable and immovable properties of the erstwhile Raja of Bettiah”, says the Gazette notification.

“With the publication of gazette notification of the ‘Vesting of Bettiah Raj Properties Act-2024’, now the Board of Revenue of the state government is framing rules of the Act which will be further approved by the state Cabinet”, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Revenue and Land Reforms department, Dipak Kumar Singh told PTI on Saturday. The Act has been passed with a view to ensure effective protection and management of Bettiah Raj land, said the ACS.

According to office of the Court of Wards, Bettiah Raj (authority which used to manage properties of the estate earlier), details of properties were submitted to the Secretary, Board of Revenue, on September 9, 2021, total land-15,358.60 acres, worth Rs 7957.38 Crore belonging to the concerned estate are in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

After taking over the possession of all land of Bettiah estate, the department concerned may allot these land to other wings of the state for several infrastructural projects, sources said. A large chunk of land may be allotted to the Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) for developing townships, malls and parks in West Champaran district, an official said on the condition of anonymity.

“The property of Bettiah Raj situated within the state of Bihar and state of UP in course of time has been subjected to numerous litigations, encroachment, unauthorized occupation, etc. The properties once vested with the State Government cannot be subject to any succession under any law and all ongoing disputes, suits or proceedings relating to succession pending before any court of law on the date of commencement of this act shall stand abated.

“The Court of Wards, consequent upon vesting, shall hand over all the papers, documents, records, maps and all relevant information to the concerned Collector of the districts where the properties of Bettiah Raj are located”, says the notified Act.

All existing leases or the existing privileges upon the lands and properties of the Bettiah Raj Properties shall stand extinguished from the date of such notification, it said. All Bettiah Raj properties vested in the state under this act shall be free from all encumbrances and shall be exempt from attachment, seizure or sale.

“All salami, rents, cess, royalties and revenues in respect of lands comprised in Bettiah properties or tenure on or after the date of vesting shall be payable to the state and any payment made otherwise shall not be binding on the state”, it said.