Patna, March 12 (PTI) The Bihar government has extended the deadline for completing the ongoing statewide land survey from July 2026 to December 2026 in a bid to minimise inconveniences being faced by the people.

State Revenue and Land Reforms Minister Sanjay Saraogi on Wednesday made the announcement in the Assembly while concluding discussions on budget proposals of Rs 1.955.98 crore for the Revenue and Land Reforms department.

The department’s budget for the next fiscal was passed by voice vote amidst a walkout by opposition members.

"The department has decided to extend the July 2026 deadline for the completion of the ongoing work of the survey and settlement of lands across the state by five months. Now, the exercise will be completed by December 2026. The decision has been taken to ensure that people don’t face any inconveniences and also to maintain transparency in the exercise," the minister added.

The objective of the exercise is to help the genuine people with digitised land records to end disputes once and for all, the minister clarified.

"Besides, the exercise will also let the government have a clear idea about its own land spread across the state," he said, adding, "The government needs land to give it to the landless and also for several infrastructural projects." The minister further said the deadline for landowners to upload their self-declaration documents related to the landed property owned by them is March 31, 2025.

"There were certain technical glitches in the server…the department will decide whether the March 31, 2025 deadline for uploading self-declaration documents should also be extended or not," he said.

The opposition staged a walkout over the alleged delay in the distribution of land to landless people by the state government.

"The land survey has been on the agenda of the Nitish Kumar government for a long time, as land disputes had emerged as the biggest law and order challenge in the state. The state government is undertaking a special land survey to update land records in the state. The government's main aim behind conducting the land survey is to reduce the cases of land disputes," said an official of the department. PTI PKD MNB

Land survey deadline extension reduces public inconvenience and safeguards transparency in digitised land records. Extension of the statewide land survey completion date by five months shifts the timeline to December 2026 to minimise public inconvenience and maintain transparency. The exercise aims to produce digitised land records to reduce land disputes and to identify government land for distribution and infrastructure. Landowners must upload self-declaration documents by a provisional March 31, 2025 deadline, which may be extended due to server technical glitches, and the department retains discretion to adjust timelines to address implementation issues.