Patna: Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who was in Patna on Sunday, pointed out the strengths on which Bihar could excel on the path of industrial and agricultural growth.

He elaborated the reasons behind his state's sterling performance in the two sectors.

"Industrial investments depend on preferences, some of which are in our hands, some aren't. Bihar has more land in comparison to Haryana and it is cheaper here. Labour resources are also available here at low cost, while it is scarce in our state. There are ample water resources here. These go in favour of this state (Bihar)," Khattar said.

Khattar was in Patna to attend Haryana Pravasi Sammelan - a conference of non-resident people of Haryana organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) - and also to attend the wedding of Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi's eldest son Utkarsh Tathagat.

Khattar added that Gurgaon in Haryana has excelled in IT industry and leading companies from across the globe have made a beeline for it because of its proximity to Delhi.

On agriculture development in Haryana, Khattar said better irrigation has helped it despite the average land holding being as small as 2 to 2.5 acres. "Around 83 per cent of agriculture land is irrigated in our state and the remaining lags behind because of water scarcity," Manohar said.