Administration in Bihar

Bihar and Orissa Province

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

Bihar Province

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.

Bihar

In 2000, Bihar again divided into two states: the current Bihar and Jharkhand. In 2001 Bihar had a total of 37 districts.

Divisions

There are 9 divisions in Bihar.

Districts

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

Blocks

The Indian state of Bihar is divided into 534 administrative subdivisions called blocks.^[8][9]

High Court

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 His Excellency 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. Rajendra Menon is the current Chief Justice of Patna High Court. He assumed his office on 15 March 2017.^[10]

Vidhan Sabha

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.

Vidhan Parishad

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.