Administration in Bihar

Following Divisions were included in Bihar and Orissa Province when it separated from Bengal Presidency in 1912:

• Bhagalpur Division (districts of Bhagalpur, Munger (Monghyr), Purnea and the Sonthal Parganas)
• Patna Division (Gaya, Patna and Shahabad)
• Tirhut Division (Champaran, Darbhanga, Muaffarpur and Saran)
• Chota Nagpur Division (Hazaribagh, Manbhum, Palamau, Ranchi and Singhbhum)
• Orissa Division (Angul, Balasore, Cuttack, Puri and Sambatpur)

On 1 April 1936 Bihar and Orissa Province was divided into two new provinces: Bihar Province and Orissa Province

Bihar and Orissa Province in 1912

In 1936, Bihar became a separate province including part of Jharkhand.

After the independence of India in 1951, Bihar including Jharkhand had 18 districts, and had 55 districts in 1991.

In 2000, Bihar again divided into two states: the current Bihar and Jharkhand. In 2001 Bihar had a total of 38 districts.

There are 9 divisions in Bihar.

There are 38 districts in Bihar, grouped into 9 divisions.

Sub-divisions (Anumandal) in Bihar are like sub-districts. There are 101 subdivisions in Bihar.

The Indian state of Bihar is divided into 534 CD Block called blocks.[7][8]

As per Census 2011, Bihar is the second least urbanised state in the country, with a rate of urbanisation of 11.3%, as compared to the national rate of 31.16%.[9][10] The state has 139 StatutoryTowns and 60 Census Towns.[11]

For the administration of the urban areas, Bihar has 12 municipal corporations, 49 nagar parishads (city councils), and 80 nagar panchayats (town councils).[12][13][14][15][16] Bihar has one municipal act to establish and govern all municipalities in the state: Bihar Municipal Act, 2007.[17]

As per a 2017 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Bihar carry out 12 out of 18 functions, and the remaining 6 are carried out by Bihar state government departments.[18] The Fifth Bihar State Finance Commission report states that the ULB funds are ‘grossly inadequate for their assigned functions, they are unable to utilize even that’.[19]

The Bihar Municipal Act, 2007 creates the following categories of urban areas based on their population. All three types of urban areas must have at least 75% of their population engaged in non-agricultural work.[17]

Further, depending on the population size, the Act prescribes the minimum and maximum number of councillors/wards allowed within each type of local government.

The Act mentions the following key positions as well as committees for ULBs:

Bihar Municipal Act, 2007 mandates the establishment of Ward Committees through the Bihar Urban Local Body (Community Participation) Rules, 2013.[20] Section 31 of the Bihar Municipal Act, 2007 mandates the establishment of Ward Committees for each ward of a municipality.[17] The ward level elected councillor would be the chairperson of their respective Ward Committee. Upto 10 representatives from the civil society belonging to the ward would be nominated into the Committee by the ULB.

Even though the creation of ward committees is mandated in municipalities, they have not been formed in Bihar.[21]

The Patna High Court (Hindi: पटना उच्च न्यायालय) is the High Court of the state of Bihar. It was established on February 3, 1916, and later affiliated under the Government of India Act, 1915. The court is headquartered in Patna, the administrative capital of the state.

A proclamation was made by the Governor-General of India on 22 March 1912. The foundation-stone of the High Court Building was laid on 1 December 1913 by the late Viceroy and Governor-General of India, Sir Charles Hardinge of Penshurst. The Patna High Court building on its completion was formally opened by the same Viceroy on 3 February 1916. Hon. Sir Justice Edward Maynard Des Champs Chamier was the first Chief Justice of Patna High Court.

This High Court has given two Chief Justices of India: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha, the 6th C.J.I., and Hon. Mr. Justice Lalit Mohan Sharma, the 24th C.J.I..

Hon. The Chief Justice Mr. Sanjay Karol is the current Chief Justice of Patna High Court.

The Vidhan Sabha is also known as Legislative Assembly. The Bihar Legislative Assembly first came into being in 1937. The current strength of the House is 243.

The Vidhan Parishad is also known as Legislative Council.

A new province of Bihar and Orissa was created by the British Government on 12 December 1911. The Legislative Council with a total of 43 members belonging to different categories was formed in 1912. The first sitting of the Council was convened on 20 January 1913. In 1936, Bihar attained its separate Statehood. Under the Government of India Act, 1919, the unicameral legislature got converted into bicameral one, i.e. the Bihar Legislative Council and the Bihar Legislative Assembly. Under the Government of India Act, 1935, the Bihar Legislative Council consisted of 29 members. After the first General Elections 1952, the number of members was increased up to 72 and by 1958 the number was raised to 96. With the creation of Jharkhand, as a result of the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 passed by the Parliament, the strength of the Bihar Legislative Council has been reduced from 96 to 75 members.