About 5,000 out of 8,064 graveyards of minority community have been fenced so far in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said today.
Making an intervention during Home Minister in-charge Bijendra Prasad Yadav's reply to a question by Congress MLA Md Tausif Alam, Kumar said as under a state policy launched nine years ago, the government had fenced about 5,000 graveyards out of 8,064 so far.
He said a survey was carried out during which it was found 8,064 graveyards were in need for fencing in incremental manner and so far about 5,000 graveyards had been fenced and the remaining ones would be fenced in phased manner.
The Chief Minister said under the state policy, the district magistrate and district police chiefs had been jointly entrusted with the responsibility for fencing of graveyards and set out priority in this regard.
The state government annually allots funds for fencing of graveyards and the district magistrates/district police chiefs jointly decide on fencing of specific graveyards depending on sensitivity of the matter, he said.
Those graveyards located in areas of mixed population get priority for fencing by the district administration, Kumar said.
On the Leader of Opposition Prem Kumar wanting to know about the allocation made by the state government in 2015-16 for fencing of graveyards, the CM did not give a specific figure, while taking a dig at the senior BJP leader for his concerns over fencing of graveyards.
As many as half a dozen legislators asked questions on fencing of graveyards in their constituencies to which the Home Minister in-charge replied it was the district magistrates/ district police chiefs to sort out the specific graveyards for fencing as per their priority.
