The Bihar government has decided to include Kanu, Halwai, Lohar and Karamakar communities in the list of Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs).
Lohara, another marginal caste, would also now be included in the list of Scheduled Castes, the cabinet decided at a meeting here last evening, official sources said.
The cabinet paved way for settling the three-decade long imbroglio over 1,000 acres of land at Digha, acquired by the Bihar State Housing Board, in Patna.
The cabinet also approved constitution of an authority, empowering it to make ex-gratia payments to farmers and regularise illegal constructions, after payment of penal charges, the sources added.