The Bihar Legislative Assembly recently engaged in a heated debate within the ruling alliance regarding the construction of boundary walls and fencing for temples and monasteries. The issue was brought up by former Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad during Question Hour. He questioned why such constructions require registration under the Religious Trust Board and suggested allowing them under the Chief Minister’s Area Development Scheme.
Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary responded by stating that the state government is unable to undertake fencing or boundary wall construction for religious institutions not registered with the Religious Trust Board. This led to a strong reaction from BJP MLA Engineer Sunil Kumar, who criticized the government for allowing graveyard fencing without registration while imposing such requirements on temples and monasteries.
MLA Sunil Kumar highlighted instances of alleged illegal encroachment on government land for graveyard fencing in Bihar Sharif. He further raised concerns about the disparity in treatment between minority community graveyards and majority community temples. These remarks stirred objections from the Opposition Benches, with RJD MLA Bhai Virendra calling for the removal of references to graveyards from the discussion.
In a separate discussion, the Assembly addressed the delay in disbursing funds to 5,254 female students under the Student Credit Card Scheme. Tarkishore Prasad sought clarification on the delays, prompting Minister Vijendra Yadav to explain the establishment of a dedicated corporation to handle the scheme and the ongoing efforts to resolve pending cases. The government assured the Assembly that steps are being taken to expedite the processing of all pending applications.
