Bihar chief minister nitish Kumar has announced the state government's decision to distribute land among the landless Paswan (Dusadh) community in an election year, a report in the Hindu says.

Now, every landless memeber of the community will receive a land-grant of three decimals under the allocation norms for 'Maha Dalits'.

The state government has included 21 of the most backward castes among Dalits in a list of Maha Dalits under a committee formed by Kumar. However, the Paswans have been left out of the list so far.

The Paswan (Dusadh) caste constitute 30.88 percent of the Dalit population in the state. The community is also among the most literate of the scheduled castes in the state with a litercay rate of 25.62 percent.

The chief minister also said that the government will soon be taking appropriate measures to ensure the empowerment of women in the Paswan community.