Bihar and Orissa Province Bihar and Orissa Province Bihar and Orissa was a province of British India which included the present-day Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and a part of Odisha. The territories were conquered by the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, and were part of the Bengal Presidency, the largest British province in India. On 22 March 1912 both Bihar and Orissa division were separated from the Bengal Presidency as Bihar and Orissa Province. On 1 April 1936 Bihar and Orissa became separate provinces. In 1756 Bihar was part of Bengal Subah of Mughal Empire while Orissa was a different Subah.
Geography of Bihar which was part of Bihar until 2000 but now is part of a separate state called Jharkhand. Bihar has notified forest area of 6,764.14 km², which is 7.1 per cent of its geographical area. The sub Himalayan foothill of Someshwar and Dun ranges in Champaran district another belt of moist deciduous forests. These also consists of shrub, grass and reeds. Here the rainfall is above 1,600 mm and thus promotes luxuriant Sal forests in the favoured areas. The hot and dry summer gives the deciduous forests. The most important trees are Shorea Robusta (Sal), Shisham, Cedrela Toona, Khair, and Semal.