Land clearing

Bihars land allotment controversy appears to be swelling by the day,as new details emerge on how the families of legislators,ministers and civil servants a powerful set of insiders benefited from the actions of the Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority scandal. Many factory plots have allegedly been sold to the relatives of senior JDU and BJP leaders,bureaucrats and other high-profile individuals. They were given this industrial land out of turn,without open tender,at rates significantly lower than market prices. Their defence is that Bihar is only beginning to attract investment,and therefore,the focus was on increasing the quantum open tenders did not make sense,since in many cases there was only one applicant for a plot. However,it is a remarkable coincidence that so many of these allotments went to Bihars most powerful and connected.

Though the full magnitude of the case is still to be estimated,these details threaten to blight the Nitish Kumar governments hard-won reputation. Opposition parties have seized this chance to embarrass the government in the assembly. While the RJD is organising protest rallies across the state,Ram Vilas Paswan has written to the president seeking Kumars resignation,and a CBI investigation has also been demanded.

Though Kumar has swung to the other side and demanded a full-scale inquiry into the transactions,he must realise how much he has at stake. Many of those who profited from the improper allocation were his closest associates,and if the collusion is proved to be systematic,as the chief minister he will not be able to escape at least indirect implication. But apart from being an illustration in how privilege perpetuates itself,the controversy is also a reminder of the need to reform land transactions. Land remains one of the most difficult,discretion-laden sectors in many states. However,greater transparency is critical for the economic growth and welfare schemes that are the supposed focus of Nitish Kumars reform agenda. If he can use this occasion to cut through the arbitrariness,the favour-mongering and murk that surround land allocation decisions,he would be doing the state an immense good.