Governor Syed Ahmed fetes MLA Raghubar Das as Assembly Speaker CP Singh, chief minister Arjun Munda and leader of Opposition Rajendra Singh look on during the celebrations in Ranchi on Thursday. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, Nov. 22: On its 13th foundation day today, Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha got a perfect present.

Chief minister Arjun Munda, while attending a function held to mark the occasion, declared that the foundation stones of the new buildings for the state Assembly, Jharkhand High Court and Jharkhand secretariat, would be laid on January 26 next year.

He confirmed that land for the buildings had already been identified and the overall house plan was ready. “There are some differences over internal design of the Vidhan Sabha building, which will be sorted out soon,” said Munda.

He promised all possible help for enriching the Assembly’s library and other necessary amenities.

The chief minister also stressed on strengthening the panchayati raj institutions and urged the legislators to learn from the experiences of former MLAs.

“We need to prepare concrete models for overall growth of the state. Effective long-term strategies ought to be drawn. The 12th Five-Year Plan will focus on human resources development for empowerment of youths. The state is already observing the youth year,” Munda said.

However, he remained non-committal on holding longer sessions so that the legislators get adequate time to raise their questions.

Incidentally, both leader of Opposition Rajendra Prasad Singh and Assembly Speaker Chandreshwar Prasad Singh, in their respective addresses, complained that the short duration of Assembly sessions was responsible for oft-repeated ruckus in the House as the members usually did not get time to lob questions.

In a step towards e-governance, Governor Syed Ahmed inaugurated a new system that will enable Assembly members to submit their questions online. Such a facility is now available only in Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha. Even the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha lack it.

“Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha was only second to its Madhya Pradesh counterpart in introducing chief minister’s question hour. It is heartening to see that action-taken reports on assurances given by the government on the floor of the House are being regularly tabled in every Assembly session. But the House also demands intensive and serious discussions on wide-ranging issues of mass interest. The education policy needs regular and careful monitoring and education of girls should be given more attention,” the governor said.

Ahmed also felicitated best legislator of the year Raghubar Das and 26 former legislators, who were elected to Bihar Vidhan Sabha and Bihar Vidhan Parishad in 1985. Three Vidhan Sabha employees were also awarded and Assembly’s quarterly magazine Udan released.

But former JMM MLA Suraj Mandal did not appear too happy with his felicitation. “I know that I have been given this honour to keep my mouth shut. But I will again make some startling revelations towards the end of this year,” he told The Telegraph.

Notably, Mandal’s submission a few years ago that then Union coal minister Shibu Soren was wanted by police in the Chirudih carnage case had compelled the JMM chief to flee Delhi without informing anyone. Ultimately, Soren not only had to part with his ministerial chair, he also landed in Jamtara jail.

Munda, who was the chief minister then, had to face the ire of the BJP leadership for reportedly giving misleading information to the Centre and also his party bosses.