Bihar government is thinking of using the radio to reach out to the poor people of Bihar and educating them about the importance of literacy, sanitation and kicking bad habits like consuming alcohol and tobacco.
At the outset it is a good media option as many of the people hear radios in Bihar. However, will they listen to someone talking rather than listen to someone singing. The programs have to be made interesting enough for the people to listen to them and I am sure the people working on this plan will figure out a way to use the tool effectively. And even if it has some impact on the people , then the effort will be worth it.
Finally, this shows that more and more people are thinking of ways to improve the situation in Bihar in some way or the other and this is definitely good news.
More details about this news can be read in The Economic Times article "
Reaching out to Bihar's poorest, via radio"
Prashant
progressivebihar.blogspot.com
I came across an interesting article in Times of India which is a take on Nitish Kumar and Bihar in a way. Its a long read and most of us know about the things discussed, but is a good read if someone has the time.
The last paragraph is interesting. Shaibal Gupta of ADRI has said that if Bihar continues to grow at double digits every year, it will take 18 years for Bihar to catch up with Maharashtra.
The article can be read at "
From darkest India, an enlightened leader"
Bihar's plan outlay has been enhanced from R. 24,000 Crores to Rs. 28,000 Crores. Many will be surprised to hear that the plan outlay has grown more than 10 times in the last 11 years. The plan outlay for Bihar in 2001 was
Rs. 2,644 Crores.
More details can be found in the Zee News article
Bihar's plan size to be hiked to Rs 28,000 crore
Prashant
www.progressivebihar.com
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar laid the foundation stone for a 1980 MW capacity Thermal Plant at Shivanpur in Aurangabad on the 28th of January 2012. The power plant is being constructed by
Nabinagar Power Generating Company Pvt. Ltd , a joint venture between NTPC and Bihar State Electricity Board. Salient features of this power plant are:
- The power plan is being contructed at an estimated cost of Rs. 12,965 crores.
- It will have 3 units of 660MW each in the first phase.
- Two more units of 660MW each will be constructed in the subsequent phases.
- The first phase is likely to be commissioned by 2015.
- Total land required for the project is 2,833 acres out of which 1,872 acres is private land.
- Farmers whose land has been acquired will get a compensation at the rate of Rs. 21 lakh per acre.
- Bihar will get 70% of the power generated by this power plant.
I think its a good step toward improving the electricity situation in Bihar and attracting more industries. I hope that the power plant doesn't face any delays and hickups that we are used to seeing in such large projects. We should also look at kick starting more power projects that can be completed faster so that Bihar can quickly fulfill the shortfall of electricity that it currently faces.
This Power project was first approved in early 2010 and the central government had also approved coal linkages in March 2010 (
Coal linkage for two 660Mega Watts plants). However it has taken almost 2 years after clearing the coal linkages to move ahead on this project. The main hurdles on the way was getting a central government approval to use the water from Ganga for the power plant and the second hurdle was land acquisition.
Overall a good step in the right direction. More details about the Thermal power plant can be found in the Times of India article -
Bihar big leap towards ‘power’
It is not the state government alone that can usher in prosperity and development within the state. Once the government has laid the foundation of a better administration and sense of security, many people can contribute in the state's growth. And some of the steps taken by farmers signal signs of a green revolution that could come to Bihar. With Bihar being predominantly an agricultural economy , it would be good to have a fresh green revolution in Bihar.
Some of the recent achievements in the agricultural space that I have come across and which will make many people happy are
- Sumant Kumar of Nalanda district created a new world record in paddy cultivation . He had a bumper yield of 224 quintal per hectare which was enough to break the world record set by a Chinese farm scientist Yuan Longping. Sumant's four other friends , Krishna Kumar, Nitish Kumar, Ramanand Singh and Sanjay Kumar also had extraordinary produce. They used an unconventional way of paddy plantation called "System of Rice Intensification (SRI)"
- Jyoti Manjhi from Gaya had first popularised this technique of SRI in Bihar by cultivating paddy on barren land.
- Manoj Kumar of Muzaffarpur motivated farmers in and around his village Mustafaganj to embrace organic farming and use vermi-compost on a large scale.
- Villagers in Mustafaganj also have started planting 10 saplings of Semel (silk cotton trees) to meet the expenses of the wedding of their daughters in future.
- Similarly in Dharhara village of Bhagalpur, villagers have for long, been planting fruit trees on the birth of every girl.
- Sudhanshu Kumar from Samastipur was awarded the "Best Mango Grower Award" last year
- Samriddhii - that aims to redesign the Vegetable supply chain in Bihar specially for the marginalized vegetable and fruit grower farmers of Bihar
For an all round development of Bihar, we need progress in all areas and agriculture is one area that will have the impact on majority of the people. Thus the above achievements definitely are something that will make all of us proud.
Sources for the above data
Prashant
www.progressivebihar.com
A sign of prosperity is that people have more money , are willing to spend more money and are not scared by the law and order situation to spend money. And this is definitely a case when one sees applications for starting 5 star hotels in Bihar. In the recent times there have been applications for atleast 6 Five Star Hotels in Bihar that have got approved.
Sr. No.
|
Location
|
Proposed Infrastructure
|
Company
|
1
|
Patna
|
Five Star Hotel
|
M/s Shirti Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.
|
2
|
Patna
|
Five Star Hotel
|
M/s Amit Metaliks Ltd
|
3
|
Exhibition Road, Patna
|
Five Star Hotel
|
M/s Kumar Infratrade Enterprises Pvt. Ltd
|
4
|
Patliputra, Patna
|
Five Star Hotel cum shopping complex and IT Park
|
M/s Recon.
|
5
|
Budh Marg, Patna
|
Five Star Hotel
|
M/s Meridian Budha Hotels
|
6
|
Patliputra, Patna
|
Five Star Hotel
|
M/s MV Hotels & Projects Pvt. Ltd
|
Similarly there are projects for building resorts primarily around Bodh Gaya.
Sr. No.
|
Location
|
Proposed Infrastructure
|
Company
|
1
|
Bodh Gaya
|
International Tourist Resort & Golf Course
|
M/s Shirti Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.
|
2
|
Bodh Gaya
|
Resort
|
M/s P & M Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd
|
3
|
Patna
|
Resort, Water Park and Education Development
|
M/s Bajaj Buildcon Pvt. Ltd.
|
4
|
Bodh Gaya
|
Three Star Hotel cum Resort
|
M/s Yatri Bihar Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.
|
Besides this there are other smaller projects for Hotels, Restaurants, etc that are being actively considered by the administration or have already been approved.
Thus, all this signals a faith in the government and lesser scare from Politicians / Goons, etc. This is again a great news because it has the potential to improve the image that many Indians still have about Bihar.
These source of these projects are the projects clearance list on the Government of Bihar website.
Wishing everyone a Very Happy Republic Day
Prashant
www.progressivebihar.com
Atleast that's what two economists Bibek Debroy and Laveesh Bhandari think. They have concluded that Bihar is now the least corrupt state in India, in their just released book "Corruption in India" The DNA and the RNA. As per them corruption has taken over India , which most of us will agree with. However they also conclude that Bihar - once that bastion of graft - is now "the least corrupt state" in India.
They attribute this to one simple ingredient - Political Will. This and a lot more is captured in the an article "The Battle for Bihar" published in Foreignpolicy.com by Sudip Mazumdar. This article looks at the corruption scenario across Bihar. Some of the quotes by people included in the article are
- Anti-corruption crusader Anjali Bhardwaj of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information states"
Nitish Kumar has shown that with a clean image and strong political will, one can bring about steady improvement in the life of citizens. He strengthens democracy and stands out among all the other politicians in India."
- Pradeep Arya, a prominent businessman who regularly deals with Bihar government agencies states "
"Nitish Kumar, unlike other politicians, does not only talk, but acts on his promises"
- Bill Gates endorsed Nitish Kumar's reforms by saying "
The great works being done here are lessons for other places in the world"
Sudip has also thrown in some recent statistics about Bihar which are an interesting read:
- Bihar boasts the fastest growth rate of India's 28 states
- Economy expanding at an astonishing rate of over 14 percent , far ahead of the national average of about 7.5 percent
- 66,000 criminals have been convicted in the past 6 years for crimes ranging from murder and kidnapping to stealing public funds. All convicts are barred from getting government contracts.
- 20 officials, including a former state police chief, have been caught in cases of having "ill-gotten" properties.
- Bihar government built 2400 km of road in 2011, compared to 415 km in 2004.
- Bihar administration has opened 15,000 schools
- Bihar has filled doctors in 60 - odd government hospitals and over 800 primary health-care centers in rural areas.
- Bihar's implementation of Right to Service Act (defining timelines for providing 50 essential services to people)
- Bihar's Lokayukta act that gives a five-member ombudsman panel broad powers to investigate and prosecute all government functionaries, including the Chief Minister .
The conclusions by Bibek and Lavish are very thought provoking and its a good sign that corruption in reducing in Bihar. It might be a fact that there is still a lot of corruption in Bihar but we are seeing the wheel turn and atleast 2 economists stand out when they say that Bihar is the least corrupt state in India.
Prashant
www.progressivebihar.com
Essar Power has applied for a license to distribute power in Bihar. Will this improve the power availability in Bihar?
I feel it will definitely improve the situation because there would be more accountability and penalization that can be done with a private company as compared to what can be done with Bihar State Electricity Board. I am sure there have been improvements made by BSEB over the last few years and getting private players into the picture will only further improve things. So allowing Essar or a suitable private player to distribute power with necessary controls in place would be a good thing.
Details about Essar Power trying to enter power distribution can be found in the Economic Times article "
Essar Power plans foray into distribution business"
Prashant
www.progressivebihar.com
Another tourist destination in Bihar is on the anvil of being revived. The Jalalgarh Fort in Purnia which is currently in ruins will be restored to its erstwhile glory.
The Jalalgarh Fort, built by Saiyad Muhammed Jalaluddin Khan, is a large quadrangular structure with lofty walls and is situated about 20 KMs from Purnia.
This is another good step. However, I hope that the project is successfully implemented. About 2 years back the Central Minister for Tourism had announced that Tutla waterfalls in Rohtas will be developed as the Grand Canyon of India. After that there has been no news about it . Even after follow ups with the current Tourism Minister and Dy Tourism Minister at the Center, their PAs, the Tourism Secretary of Bihar and others , I have not received any updated on the progress of Tutla Waterfalls. Hopefully Jalalgarh will not face the same fate.
More details about the news can be found in the Zee News article "
Bihar: Jalalgarh fort to be restored"
Prashant
www.progressivebihar.com
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