The Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (Alteration of Boundaries) Act, 1968

This Act may be called the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (Alteration of Boundaries)Act, 1968.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, (a) "appointed day1" means the day which the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint; (b) "assembly constituency", "council constituency" and "parliamentary constituency" have thesame meanings as in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950); (c) "deep stream", in relation to the river Ganga or the river Ghaghra, means the deep streamthereof as verified and agreed upon by the State Governments of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh after the30th day of September of the year preceding the year in which the appointed day falls and before the1st day of January of the year in which the appointed day falls and in default of agreementbetween the State Governments, as determined by such authority as may be specified by theCentral Government; (d) "fixed boundary" means the boundary line demarcated under the provisions of sub-section (2)of section 3 in relation to the river Ganga or the river Ghaghra, as the case may be; (e) "law" includes any enactment, ordinance, regulation, order, bye-law, rule, scheme,notification or other instrument having the force of law in the whole or in any part of the State ofBihar or Uttar Pradesh; (f) "notified order" means an order published in the Official Gazette; (g) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (h) "sitting member", in relation to either House of Parliament or of the Legislature of a State,means a person who immediately before the appointed day is a member of that House; (i) "transferred territories" means, (i) in relation to the State of Bihar, the territories transferred by this Act from that State to theState of Uttar Pradesh, and (ii) in relation to the State of Uttar Pradesh, the territories transferred by this Act from thatState to the State of Bihar; (j) any reference to a district of a State shall be construed as a reference to the area physicallycomprised within that district immediately before the appointed day.

(1) As from the appointed day,-- (a) there shall be added to the State of Bihar-- (i) all the territories of Ballia district of the State of Uttar Pradesh lying between the fixedboundary and the deep stream of the river Ghaghra, and (ii) all the territories of that district lying between the fixed boundary and the deep stream ofthe river Ganga, and the said territories shall thereupon cease to form part of the State of Uttar Pradesh; and (b) there shall be added to the State of Uttar Pradesh-- (i) all the territories of Saran district of the State of Bihar lying between the fixed boundaryand the deep stream of the river Ghaghra, and (ii) all the territories of Shahabad district of the State of Bihar lying between the fixedboundary and the deep stream of the river Ganga, and the said territories shall thereupon cease to form part of the State of Bihar. (2) The fixed boundary in relation to each of the rivers Ganga and Ghaghra shall be demarcated by anauthority appointed in this behalf by the Central Government so as to be generally in conformity with theboundary line described in the Schedule in relation to that river: Provided that in the process of such demarcation, the said authority shall have power to rationalise tothe extent considered necessary by him, the boundary alignment between the high banks of the riverGanga or the river Ghaghra, as the case may be, and in particular shall try-- (a) to ensure, as far as possible, the stability of the boundary pillars and the recognition of theboundary alignment both during the dry and flood seasons; and (b) to avoid, as far as possible, the splitting up of the existing abadis. (3) For the purposes of such demarcation,-- (a) the decision of the said authority on any matter relating to the interpretation of any part of thedescription of the boundary given in the Schedule (including the determination of the relevant recordreferred to in the Explanatory Note to the Schedule) shall be final; (b) the said authority shall have power to determine the location of the points at which theboundary pillars shall be constructed and to specify the State Government which shall be responsiblefor the construction and maintenance of the boundary pillars at such points according to suchspecifications as that authority may indicate (the pillars of the same specifications being apportioned,as far as practicable equally between the two State Governments), the decision of the said authority inregard to these matters being final; (c) it shall be lawful for the said authority and for any person specified by such authority to enterupon and survey any area in the vicinity of the boundary line and to do all other acts as may benecessary. (4) The authority referred to in sub-section (2) shall also prepare a map of the transferred territoriesshowing-- (a) the deep stream of the river Ghaghra or the river Ganga, as the case may be, and the fixedboundary in relation to that river; (b) the names and boundaries of the villages in the transferred territories, as indicated by theState Government having jurisdiction over the territories before their transfer, with reference to therevenue records of that Government in force immediately before the preparation of such map, and forward such map to the Central Government who shall cause it to be published in the transferredterritories in such manner as it thinks fit. (5) As from the appointed day, the State Government of Bihar or Uttar Pradesh shall, by order in theOfficial Gazette, provide for the administration of the territories transferred to that State undersub-section (1) by including them or any part of them in such district, sub-division, police-station or otheradministrative unit as may be specified in the order

As from the appointed day, in the FirstSchedule to the Constitution, under the heading "I. THE STATES" (a) for the entry against "3. Bihar", the following shall be substituted, namely: "The territories which immediately before the commencement of this Constitution were eithercomprised in the Province of Bihar or were being administered as if they formed part of thatProvince and the territories specified in clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Bihar andUttar Pradesh (Alteration of Boundaries) Act, 1968, but excluding the territories specified insub-section (1) of section 3 of the Bihar and West Bengal (Transfer of Territories) Act, 1956, andthe territories specified in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 3 of the first mentioned Act."; (b) for the entry against "13. Uttar Pradesh", the following shall be substituted, namely: "The territories which immediately before the commencement of this Constitution were eithercomprised in the Province known as the United Provinces or were being administered as if theyformed part of that Province and the territories specified in clause (b) of sub-section (1) ofsection 3 of the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (Alteration of Boundaries) Act, 1968, but excluding theterritories specified in clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 3 of that Act."

As from the appointed day, any reference in any orderrelating to delimitation of parliamentary constituencies, assembly constituencies or councilconstituencies (a) (i) to the State of Bihar, shall be construed as including the territories transferred to that Statefrom the State of Uttar Pradesh under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 3, but excluding theterritories transferred from the State of Bihar to the State of Uttar Pradesh under clause (b) of thatsub-section; (ii) to any district, sub-division, police-station or other administrative unit in the State of Bihar,shall be construed as including that part of the territories, if any, transferred to that State, which isincluded in that district, sub-division, police-station or other administrative unit by order made undersub-section (5) of section 3; (b) (i) to the State of Uttar Pradesh, shall be construed as including the territories transferred tothat State from the State of Bihar under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 3, but excluding theterritories transferred from the State of Uttar Pradesh to the State of Bihar under clause (a) of thatsub-section; (ii) to any district, sub-division, police-station or other administrative unit in the State ofUttar Pradesh, shall be construed as including that part of the territories, if any, transferred to thatState, which is included in that district, sub-division, police-station or other administrative unit byorder made under sub-section (5) of section 3.