Bihar government today approved the Bihar Underground Pipeline Bill, 2011 for laying a chain of underground pipe across the state for supply of water from the rivers to the industrial units, including power plants.

The decision in this regard was taken at a cabinet meeting presided over by the chief minister Nitish Kumar, the principal secretary (cabinet coordination and secretariat) Ravikant told reporters here.

The Bihar Underground Pipeline Bill, 2011, will be tabled in the state legislature during the Monsoon session in July this year, he said.

Under the provisions of the proposed bill, the state government will take the farmers permission of the right to use their land for laying underground pipelines and in lieu will be awarded 20 per cent compensation of the rate of land acquisition, Ravikant said.

The ownership right of the land will remain unchanged and the farmers will continue to use the groundlevel land for agriculture or any other purposes, he clarified and said that the state government will use the underground portion of land for laying down pipelines and its maintenance.