PATNA, Feb. 28 -- The Bihar government announced on Friday that the state government was prepared to constitute a high-level committee to investigate/scrutinise all the land-related documents of alleged illegal occupation of settlement (Bandobasti) lands in Kishanganj. Deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said, "The state government is taking this matter seriously and is prepared to constitute a high-level committee to investigate." He was replying to the a non-official resolution submitted by Thakurganj MLA Gopal Kumar Agrawal in the Assembly who raised the issue of the alleged illegal occupation of settlement lands in Kishanganj district's Dighalbank block by outsiders. The MLA stated in the House that approximately 90 acres of land allotted to local Dalit, Adivasi, and poor Surajpuri Muslim families under the Bihar government's Bhoodan and Red Card schemes over the past 40 years have been encroached upon by outsiders from Malda-Murshidabad in West Bengal in the past 10 years. He demanded that these lands be physically verified and freed from illegal occupation, stating that this problem is rapidly increasing in all border districts. It must be addressed. Responding to MLA's concern, deputy CM Sinha stated that according to the report received from the district magistrate, Kishanganj, no specific cases of land grabbing by outsiders from Malda-Murshidabad, West Bengal, have come to light. However, he clarified that if cases of illegal transfer or sale of settlement land are discovered, the Jamabandi in the name of the respective buyer is cancelled and the settlement in the name of the settler is duly revoked. In such a situation, the land reverts to the government. The deputy CM stated in the House that if the members provide concrete evidence, the state government will constitute a high-level committee and conduct a comprehensive investigation into the entire matter. Under no circumstances will illegal occupation of settlement land by outsiders belonging to the poor be tolerated. He also said that this issue is being taken seriously at the central level. "Union home minister Amit Shah is making efforts to prevent and resolve land disputes in various districts of Seemanchal. To this end, continuous action has been initiated at the administrative and legal levels," he said, reiterating that the government is committed to protect the land allotted to the poor, Dalits and marginalised....