Committee to look into land rates in Santhal Pargana: Das

Amid Opposition boycott of the House over land rates in Jharkhand's Santhal Pargana region, Chief Minister Raghubar Das today announced formation of a high-level committee to prepare a framework for the purpose.
Chief Secretary Rajiv Gauba would head the committee while Additional Chief Secretary (Industry) Uday Pratap Singh, Finance Secretary Amit Khare, and Revenue Secretary K K Soan would be its members, Das told the state Assembly.
He said the committee within 15 days would talk to farmers and people in the region and prepare a framework for the rates.
Das said the previous evaluation of rates of land, which was carried out on a scientific method in the region, would be put on hold.

"The previous committee headed by an honest and efficient officer, Amit Khare, had evaluated the rates based on a scientific method," he said.
Das said the details of the evaluation would have been explained in detail by the Revenue, Land Reforms Minister Amar Kumar Bauri, had the Opposition listened to his reply yesterday.
The Opposition had yesterday created a din midway through the Minister's reply objecting the naming a sports club as 'Kamal Club' not allowing him to conclude his response.
Dissatisfied with the Chief Minister's reply today, the Opposition, barring Kushwaha Shivpujan Mehta of Bahujan Samaj Party and Raj Kumar Yadav of CPI-ML (Liberation), staged a walkout.