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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 also
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, Vishakhapatnam,
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.
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Comments: |
I
appreciate the author for all the
good wishes he has for Bihar and
wish such articles will form the
base line directions for
irreversible progressive changes of
the infrastructure facility and
mindset of people in Bihar. Further,
noteworthy suggestions in the
article are role of Chief Minister
and Ministers.
The one thing Bihar people need
urgently is to change the mindset of
common people. The new Government
needs to know that before making any
new promises in public, home work
must be done for project's
feasibility otherwise it will be
considered rhetoric of over
enthusiasm. Ulterior motives of the
people in government and over all
politicization of criminals have
made the system so corrupt, and have
deteriorated the System so badly
that all the plans and ambitions
fail at implementation stage.
Bihar has less number of criminals
than UP and Bombay but has much more
sympathizers in Police, in
Government circles and over all in
our society. It is people of Bihar
who have indirectly offered this
amount of power to the criminals
(may be not by the definition of
law) of their respective castes.
This mindset needs to change.
Entrenched tyrannies and
inequalities will not politely give
way to the new order waiting to be
born in Bihar. What Bihar needs from
the CM is sustained leadership to
drive the message home into the
towns and the deep recesses of the
countryside: that the law, not the
tyrant, will prevail. The people of
Bihar who are habituated to the slow
death of public institutions and the
state have to pledge a better life
for him and the state. Private
companies are still wary of
venturing into Bihar. The state
recently invited tenders for
four-lanes of over 2000 km of
National Highway on build, operate,
transfer basis and not single bid
came. But we should not loose hope
and confidence.
For any societal change - the
building blocks are hope and
confidence. Hope that things will
change and confidence that we as a
group and I as an individual can
participate in making that change
happen. Let us not loose hope and
confidence.- Narayan Prasad - May
2, 2006
A
very valid point has been raised and
the writer has also shown how Bihar
can achieve a fast track
development. Biharis in Bihar and
elsewhere need to give up a
defeatist attitude an inferiority
complex. Everyone should come up
with positive attitude & lots of
things can be done. Revitalisation &
commercial exploitation of
agriculture will transform Bihar.
Government needs to provide
infrastructure like Roads, Water and
Power. For building roads
contractors need to be protected
from kidnapping and extortion from
criminals. Private sector can do the
rest. Agriculture can be exploited
like Punjab and processed
agricultural products can find
market in middle east, US and UK.
Dairy can be developed on the lines
of AArey milk colony of Mumbai.
Fisheries and Poultry can be
developed on the lines of Andhra. No
wheels need to be reinvented. Live
and real role models are there to
emulate. - Mithilesh Kumar - May
2, 2006 |
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