New Delhi: NDA ally Janata Dal (United) led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been continuously demanding a special status for Bihar. However, Modi government has clarified that Bihar’s case for special category status “is not made out”.
This was also stated in a written reply in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in response to the question by JD(U) MP from Jhanjharpur Rampreet Mandal.
Mandal asked the finance ministry if the government had any proposal to provide special status to the state of Bihar and other most backward states to promote economic growth and industrialisation.
“The Special Category Status for plan assistance was granted in the past by the National Development Council (NDC) to some States that were characterised by a number of features necessitating special consideration. These features included (i) hilly and difficult terrain, (ii) low population density and/or sizeable share of tribal population, (iii) strategic location along borders with neighbouring countries, (iv) economic and infrastructural backwardness and (v) non-viable nature of State finances. The decision was taken based on an integrated consideration of all the factors listed above and the peculiar situation of the State,” Chaudhary explained.
“Earlier, the request of Bihar for Special Category Status was considered by an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) which submitted its Report on 30th March, 2012. The IMG came to the finding that, based on existing NDC criteria, the case for Special Category Status for Bihar is not made out,” he added.
At the customary all-party meeting held Sunday, ahead of the budget session of the Parliament which began Monday, the issue of special status for Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha took centrestage.
At the meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) former friends Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), along with its current partner in the National Democratic Alliance, JD(U), voiced their demands for special status for their respective states.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha said, “Bihar should get the status of a special state. This has been the demand of our party since the beginning. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has held big rallies for this demand. If the government feels that there is a problem in doing this, then we have demanded a special package for Bihar. We have also raised the problem of floods in Bihar.”
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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