Patna, June 25: Bihar has returned Rs 8.33 crore that the Centre had given to set up a dairy plant at Motihari in East Champaran district.

The state government returned the fund in January this year, almost 18 months after Centre sent the money in June 2015. According to details the Centre approved in April 2014, New Delhi was to give Rs 14.46 crore of the roughly Rs 25 crore needed to set up the dairy.

"We had requested the Centre to bear the total cost of the project but our request was turned down. Hence, we returned the fund," said Awadhesh Kumar Singh, the state animal and fisheries resources minister. BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav rubbished the minister's claim, saying it a lame excuse to scuttle the Centre's move to do good things for the farming community of Bihar.

"There is a well-set norm to set up such dairy plants in which both the Centre and state government concerned provide funds," the BJP leader said. "The state government does not want to ameliorate the condition of people engaged in farming and related activities. Any state government would have lapped up such an opportunity as it would directly benefit the milk producers of Champaran and adjoining regions."

Nand Kishore listed eight other agriculture projects that he alleged have not yet taken off because of the state government's apathy.

"The future of a tobacco research centre in Samastipur, functional since 1958, is under a cloud as the state government has demanded back the 40-acre land on which it was functioning. Similarly, the Government of India's proposal to set up an agriculture college in the Magadh and Saran region, a forestry and horticulture college at Motihari and a veterinary and fisheries college at Madhubani are not taking off because the state is not providing land," Nand Kishore said.

Six other projects the BJP leader said are stuck because the state has not given land are a seed production centre of the Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, a Bhartiya Beej Nigam Limited project, a banana tissue culture lab, a litchi-related project at Mehsi in East Champaran district, six Krishi Vigyan Kendras and 11 fish markets to be set up by the National Fisheries Development Board.

"Bihar government is doing politics in the name of agriculture," Nand Kishore alleged. "It fears execution of these projects would add to the popularity of our government at the Centre and hence it is not taking interest."

Attempts to speak to Bihar agriculture minister Ram Vichar Rai proved futile. The revenue and land reforms minister Madan Mohan Jha, whose department clears any proposal of land transfers, claimed no proposal of land for agriculture projects was pending at his level.

"I have not come across any such proposal from any state government department," Jha said. "We are very much clear as far as development projects are concerned. If any proposal from any department for such projects comes to us we will give clearance to such proposals on a priority basis."

He added that Nitish had specifically said that development projects should not be held back if land is available.

Nand Kishore hit back at Jha, saying: "The seriousness about development should be reflected on the ground else the state government should be ready to take the blame for putting obstacles in the way of development projects meant for agriculture and allied sectors."