Bihar - The Easier and Surer Course for Poverty Alleviation

by Indra

April 12, 2006

While Bihar’s CM and his deputy from the well-known trading community must do everything to get the investment in big projects, they must also work on some basic approaches for the rural Bihar that will bring prosperity and make a significant environmental improvement too.

There is nothing wrong if the people from Bihar are immigrating to all over India and even abroad to Middle East providing the workforce. It is an old practice, when we think of Mauritius. But the state can certainly do some thing significant to make them more valuable in the job market. It will bring respectability to them and to Bihar too.

As a first thing, Bihar needs a very able and efficient education minister who can work with missionary zeal to implement Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan effectively. It requires interactions with teachers and parents, and it also requires providing motivational incentives and in some cases reprimands too for the teachers. A drive on the line of polio plus must be put in place till universal education goal for all the children up to the age of 14 years is attained.

The trade education must be compulsory for the students with no potential for higher education. Bihar needs many more ITIs, perhaps in hundreds, while the existing ones need modernization and up gradation. The quality of the passing out students must be such that they become skilled in their trades to become good machinists, plumbers, motor mechanics, electricians, carpenters, and hands in other trades without a need for any further training at employers’ premises. The education in trade school may be free and even paid for at least for the reserved class students as incentive. If it is so required, the basic pre-qualification for the admission must be abolished and aptitude must be the preference for the selection of the trade.

In absence of work in the state if these boys immigrate, they will find better earning jobs or even with booming economy can work as freelancers making good money and may become an entrepreneur one day. They shall be remitting more money to their family members back home improving thus the quality of life.

For the remaining lot, besides asset building projects of water management (canals, water bodies) under NREG, the state must work for starting dairy industry and animal husbandry in big way. Even the old age people left behind in rural areas will be interested in doing that work if it becomes paying, because traditionally they have been doing this. The state must provide the opportunity to these people in abundance in every village so that they can earn by supplying the milk to the collection centers in vicinity. The state must seek the help of some reputed missionary person such as Kurien for the cooperative movement. Similar cooperatives can work for other rurally produced items such as handicrafts, rural paintings, home made toys, apparel and knitted items.

The state can also release or just permit commercial plantation or organic manure production on the government land by the rural people below poverty line that can enhance their income. Idea must be for empowering the people through different initiatives rather than doling out the money.

Rural Bihar needs some innovative projects, perhaps a rural manufacturing sector for creating useful employment even for those few who will be left behind. And then with prosperity will come many service requirements that can absorb many local boys if they can prepare themselves for that in time.

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