State capital safe, constituency not

While the BJP is mourning the death of Purnea MLA Raj Kishore Keshari, criminals attacked another party MLA - Nityanand Rai - when he was on a “thanksgiving” yatra in his constituency. He escaped unscathed but had to call off his yatra and return to the state capital. It is becoming dangerous for the MLAs to be in their constituencies. Perhaps they should remain in Patna for some time,” said a senior party leader, pointing out that Keshari was killed in his home constituency. However, some politicians differ. “In the 1990s, at least two MLAs were shot dead in Patna. A ruling party MLA was murdered just outside his home. Former minister Brij Bihari Prasad was killed while he was in judicial custody and surrounded by a dozen security men,” said a seasoned politician. The leader insisted that the location is immaterial, rather MLAs with dubious past needed to be alert.

Money matters

DA leaders are calling the Centre's claim that it has doubled the special package for Bihar from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,000 crore, misleading. “It is a part of the Sam Vikas Yojana started by the NDA government at the Centre when Bihar was bifurcated. Till 2011, the Centre was supposed to give over Rs 10,000 crore. Till date, a little over Rs 6,000 crore has been released,” said deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi. He said the reported hike in grants was nothing but a fraud. Over the past five years, the Congress-led central government and the state government have been engaged in verbal duels over funds allotted to the state. “Considering the fact that we do not have a single minister in the Union government and it is being headed by political rivals, Bihar is lucky to get whatever is given to it,” said a NDA minister.

NRI meet of no help

he state government has no expectations from the Pravasi Bharatiya meet at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, despite putting up huge advertisements declaring - “Bihar… The New Miracle”. “Our experience with non-resident Indians (NRI) has been hardly encouraging. Not a single paise of investment has come from them,” said a senior minister. Despite the lack of enthusiasm a minister will go to attend the meet starting on Saturday. In the 1990s, when Lalu Prasad was chief minister, there was a huge NRI meet in Patna. The state government, after the show, had declared investments of Rs 40,000 crore would come to Bihar. But not a single paise came. “These meets are nothing but a picnic for the NRIs, where they get free food and lodging,” said a senior politician.

City master plan

rban development minister Prem Kumar has asked his officials to complete the master plan of the state capital. Five years ago, his predecessor, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, had released a master plan, which projected the population of Patna would be around 5 million in 2020. He declared the state would need three times the existing power, police stations and hospitals to cope with the population pressure. he floating population of Patna is estimated to be half a million every day and by 2020 it is expected to cross 10 million.“The new master plan figures will be even more frightening,” said an official. However, the official wondered if the government ever intended to mplement the master plan.