Patna, Aug. 11: The Nitish Kumar government has slammed the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) for using what it believes are skewed statistics and crimped assumptions while estimating growth in Bihar's gross state domestic product (GSDP) at a lowball 7.14 per cent in 2015-16 - a sharp decline of 5.88 percentage points from 13.02 per cent in 2014-15.

"It is bizarre. We are unable to comprehend the dip in the growth rate figures. We will be seeking a clarification from the CSO on how this happened," said Deepak Prasad, principal secretary, planning and development department.

Similarly, the GSDP growth rate when measured at current prices also tumbled to 10.59 per cent from 17.92 per cent in 2014-15.

Bihar's big beef is over the CSO's refusal to use the state government's data on the performance of the tertiary sector - basically the services sector - while computing the state's economic performance.

Prasad claims that the CSO sourced tertiary sector data from some other agency.

CSO officials could not be reached to explain the reason for the wide gulf of roughly Rs 67,000 crore between the CSO and the state government's estimates of GSDP in absolute terms.

Prasad was answering questions from mediapersons on economic growth after almost an hour-long news conference which focused mainly on the figures related to the 12th five year plan, annual plans, central sector schemes, special plans, as well as the state government's initiatives - instead of the burning issue of the drop in GSDP rate.

Development commissioner Shishir Sinha, who was also present, asserted that there were mistakes and discrepancies in CSO data pertaining to all sectors. The state, he said, would "soon present them before the CSO and the figures will be corrected in the provisional figures for 2015-16", expected in February 2017.

"As per the CSO figures, the secondary sector in the state - which includes manufacturing, electricity, gas, construction - has shown a growth from 3.42 per cent to 13.42 per cent (at current prices). Our objection is that growth in the tertiary or services sector has fallen from around 22 per cent in 2014-15 to 7.2 per cent in 2015-16," Shishir said.

The development commissioner pointed out that under the tertiary sector, air transport showed -4.46 per cent growth, storage -4.43 per cent, public administration -3.9 per cent, trade and repair -16.01 per cent (all figures in negative). The hotel and restaurant business saw a nominal growth.

"If the secondary sector grows, so does the tertiary sector, but in the case of Bihar, just the opposite happened. We are unable to understand this contradiction in the CSO data, and will raise the issue before it," the official said.

However, at the same time, Shishir added that they were "not blaming CSO, as the organisation itself was saying that the data was not final and provisional figures will follow".

Senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who also was the finance minister of the state from 2005 to 2013, pointed out that data related to over 100 heads are procured by the Centre to calculate GSDP. Guidelines are fixed to determine who will provide which set of data.

"The majority of primary sector data is provided by state government agencies. In other sectors, around two-third data is procured from central government agencies," Modi said.

The BJP leader hit out at the state government over the fall in the growth rate and said it reflected poor governance, lack of initiatives to boost industry and services, and an absence of facilities as well as proper environment for entrepreneurs and industrialists.

"I am also surprised over the protests by the state government over the latest growth figures. When the same CSO gave Bihar growth percentages in double digits, then it was all good and its methods were fine, but it has suddenly become a villain after it pegged the rate at 7.14 per cent," Modi added.

CSO provides four sets of data for any given financial year. It provided "advance" data for 2015-16 in February this year, before the fiscal ended to give a peek into the way GSDP figures were shaping up. The GSDP rate was pegged at 10.27 per cent then. This was followed by "quick estimates" in July-August - the set of data which has touched off the current controversy. The "provisional" figures for 2015-16 will be released twice, in February 2017 and July 2017. The final figures would be available somewhere around July 2018.