Bihar Deserves More Than A Whitepaper
Posted : April 27, 2006 at 12:05 pm [IST]
The Nitish Kumar Government in Bihar has released a White Paper on the state of affairs of the financial mismanagement and misadministration of the previous regime. Every one in Bihar knows about it, so it hardly serves any purpose. It does not reveal any surprise. Rather many including the author feels disenchanted with the present affairs in Bihar. Nothing substantial is happening that brings a positive change in perception about the speedy development and gives some hope. Some are also seeing the White Paper as a ploy by Nitish for an excuse to buy time.
It is not only unfortunate but shocking that some of the actions of Bihar CM are not in line of the expectations of a high standard of politics and administration that Bihar needs and people like me expect from him.
It appears Nitish and his government is still not ready to think out-of-the box to make a fast track development. Some examples will be sufficient to prove that.
If Punjab can allure ITC, Reliance and Bharati to commit investment in the state for agro-processing, why can’t Bihar with many fertile areas that have potential for the agro-business? Both the companies would do contract farming and buy back the entire produce. It will mean ensured prosperity for the farmers who in harvesting seasons get totally exploited by traders and many times are forced for distress sales. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries would invest Rs 6,000 crore to set up 54 rural hubs across Punjab and would also set up eight agro-processing units to supply fresh vegetable and fruit to West Asia and Europe. Has the Bihar government approached these industrialists? Sometimes, I wonder the Bihar government suffers from inferiority complex, hesitates to come with some aggressive proposals and wishes to remain inactive assuming that no one will come to the state. People of Bihar have not gone for the change of leadership for this purpose.
Anil Agrawal’s Vedanta Group has a plan to set up a world-class university on line or Harvard and Stanford. The advertisement appeared in all national dailies. West Bengal was its preferred location. But when West Bengal didn’t show much interest because of the state assembly election, they tried to approach Orissa for setting that up. Did Bihar government try to get them setup that institute in Bihar? Why should it not?
The list of potentials for initiatives may be as large as one wish. But I shall not like to go in extensive enumeration. Recently, 23 cities have submitted city development plans and signed memoranda of agreement under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. If Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Chandigarh, Raipur, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara, Surat, Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Greater Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Kohima, Ajmer Pushkar, Jaipur, Coimbatore, Madurai, Asansol and Kolkata can, why can’t Patna or Gaya? But perhaps, the authorities and bureaucrats are not ready for that or they don’t wish that to happen. After all, all this demands hard work. And perhaps, Bihar is still in slumber. Ministers and their bureaucrats have the mindsets of Lalu-Rabri era.
I wish if CM and Deputy CM publish and circulate to every educated Bihari a Paper (in colour of their own choice) giving 10 major on-going fast track projects that they are themselves monitoring with a target date of completion. The Paper must also include next 10 projects that are in their plans for 4 years. Further, I request the two to ask the secretary of all the departments to give a list of five major projects that he is following with next five that he would work on. The targets must be in physical achievements and not by the money spent. Besides their political engagements, basically the two must aim at an administration by objectives. Perception must change fast. Time is running out.
- Indra
Category: Employment/Education |
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