Patna, Aug. 26: State BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi has challenged chief minister Nitish Kumar to an open debate after the latter called Prime Minister Narendra Modi's special package "mere repackaging of old schemes".
Sushil said that initiating work on pending projects or starting work on projects that are only on paper does not mean that those are old projects.
"By announcing the special package, the Prime Minister has fulfilled the promises he had made in just 15 months. The Modi government would be accountable, vis-à-vis completion of these projects, after four years. But in the coming Assembly elections, Nitish, Lalu and the Congress must answer why these projects were pending for so long, if they are old, " Sushil asked.
Prime Minister Modi had, during a visit to Ara on August 18, announced Rs 1.25 lakh crore as a special package for Bihar, something he had promised during general elections.
Sushil said: "Nitish should explain whether construction of eight mega bridges on three rivers is a new or old project. Also, the tender and detailed project report (DPR) for construction of 21 highways worth Rs 54,713 crore, including Patna-Buxar four-lane road, had already been issued. But work on these projects had not started because of the state government's lackadaisical attitude. So, does starting a project whose work has not commenced make it a new or old project?"
The projects to be covered under the special package include construction of four bridges, including a four-lane parallel bridge to Mahatma Gandhi Setu in Patna, parallel road-cum-rail bridge to Rajendra Setu in Mokama and two bridges each on the Sone and Kosi.
Told that Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) had only been renamed as Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, Sushil asked if RGGVY covers separation of two feeder lines, one for agriculture purpose and the other for household connectivity.
To counter the charge of old and new projects, Sushil further claimed that construction of central university near ancient Vikramshila University (Bhagalpur) and setting up first multi-skilled university, Digital Bihar, under which 1,000 telecom towers would come up and a separate software technology park set up, were new projects.
"Talks about revival of the Barauni Refinery and setting up a gas pipeline are pending projects not initiated by the earlier UPA government, but, for the first time the Union government has sanctioned funds under these projects," the former state finance minister and deputy chief minister said.
As regards the Rs 21,476 crore package announced under petroleum and natural gas head, Rs 12,000 crore will be spent on expanding the crude processing capacity at Barauni refinery from the existing 6 million tonnes to 9 million tonnes.
The Centre's plan to give a special package to Bihar was going on for two months and Union finance minister Arun Jaitely convened meetings with 12 departments twice in this regard. Sushil said he had attended these meetings.
Earlier in the day, chief minister Nitish Kumar described the Rs 125 lakh crore bonanza Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced for the state during his visit to Ara on August 18 as a "downright farce" and asked the Prime Minister to specifically explain "what was special about the so called special package".
