Patna, Aug. 28: Bihar is set to be covered in crores with chief minister Nitish Kumar today unveiling his seven-point vision document worth Rs 2.7 lakh crore, more than double the amount Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised as "special package" for the state.
Unlike Modi's largesse, devoid of a timeframe, Nitish's vision document is for a five-year period.
The development plan includes free electricity and drinking water connection for every household, similar to promises Nitish's new found political comrade-in-arms Arvind Kejriwal had made for Delhi.
Nitish, who had scoffed at the Prime Minister's special package by saying it was a re-packaging of old plans, said the vision document was for new schemes.
"Unlike the much hyped package which is nothing but repackaging of old schemes, my (Rs 2.70 lakh crore) vision comprises programmes which are doable and I have worked out mobilisation of resources for it."
"It's my dil ki baat (talk from the heart) and not mann ki baat (talk of mind)," Nitish said. The seven-point development plan was in addition to the ongoing schemes in different sectors, the chief minister said at a news conference, flanked by state finance minister Bijendra Yadav and senior minister Vijay Chaudhary.
Going by the content of the agenda (see chart), Nitish's target are the youths, who form a third of the state's 6.68 crore voters, and women, who are 48 per cent of voters.
The package prompted economists to wonder where the money would come from since the Centre still funds over 70 per cent of the budget.
Nitish asserted it was possible. "I've made an assessment and the funds look attainable. It is not a package. It is my resolve," he declared, insisting that people of Bihar know that he does what he knows. He clarified that this was not an election manifesto of the alliance partners but his own vision.
"It is a political stunt and the chief minister is doing what he has charged the Prime Minister of doing. Where will the state get such resources from? Even if the state gets the funds, it does not have the capacity to spend, as the development commissioner has to remind a dozen departments every January that they have not been able to spend even 50 per cent of their budgetary allotment. We have to be realistic. Such huge funds cannot be mobilised by the state. Nitish is promising the moon," said economist N.K. Choudhary.
"There is no way we can raise this fund from our internal resources. There is the option of borrowing around Rs 55,000 crore every year from the market. Usually, the state has to pay back these loans after 5-8 years. When the time comes to pay back, the state will become bankrupt. We will join states like Bengal, which has a debt of Rs 2.5 lakh crore and keeps asking the Centre for more to either waive off its loans or stagger payback. Bihar will face the pinch of the market loan after five to six years," former chief secretary V.S. Dubey said.
Nitish's 7 Sutra vision document may not sound "economically viable", but makes political sense.
Nitish has sought to introduce 35 per cent quota for women in all government jobs. Introducing 50 per cent job quota for teachers, seats in panchayat and local bodies and cycles for schoolgoing girls paid rich dividends in the past.
There were long queues of women voters outside booths in 2010. But worsening law and order and the BJP's efforts to woo women have sent worrying signals in the JDU camp.
Nitish's vision document focuses on voters aged 18 to 30, the section aggressively backing Prime Minister Modi's rallies in Bihar. Nitish has promised them five new schemes.
In the power sector, Nitish went a step ahead, promising free power supply to every home.
He promised clean drinking water to 1.95 crore families in the state, roads and drainage system in every village and construction of 1.72 crore toilets apart from opening engineering colleges in every district and five new medical colleges. "It is an alluring promise, covering every section of society. Nitish has put his image as a performer at stake," said a senior BJP leader.
