Munda: Largesse man

Ranchi, May 11: Stung by criticism of a tribal-bias, the government has decided to distribute bicycles to all girl students in government high schools.

The scheme had earlier covered only tribal students but has now been extended to girl students belonging to scheduled castes, backward castes and minorities.

Even those girl students of government schools who have already passed the matriculation examination this year, are eligible, said sources in the education department.

This belated course correction appears to have been done with an eye to the next Assembly election. Distribution of bicycles to only tribal girls in high schools, and buses only to tribals, last year had drawn the ire of the “Sadans”.

They worked actively to defeat the candidates put up by the BJP in the general election last month, while accusing the state government of favouring only the tribals.

The scheme is credited to chief minister Arjun Munda. Unlike some other state governments which promised free electricity to the people or rice at Rs 2 per kilogram or his Chhattisgarh counterpart Raman Singh who has promised a cow to each tribal family, Munda’s decision to hand out bicycles has generally been hailed as a smart move.

Bicycles are more useful and last longer, point out observers, and have provided a “liberating experience” to girls in the countryside.

It remains to be seen though whether the government’s latest move, which excludes boys and even girls belonging to upper castes, will boomerang or get challenged on the ground of discrimination.

It could also antagonise tribals this time since for some inexplicable reason, tribal girls are sought to be kept out of the purview this time. If that happens, the state government is likely to find itself in a deeper mess.

The scheme has been criticised, however, on the ground that all the bicycles will have to be bought in other states and transported to Jharkhand. The state should have invited a bicycle manufacturer to set up shop in the state first and then offered to buy the bicycles produced by it, felt a section of the bureaucrats.

Conversely, the government should have decided to distribute something else which is produced in the state. The money of the tax-payers in Jharkhand, they argued, would then have benefited local producers.

In yet another far-reaching and political move, the state government has decided to provide grants to 42 private schools “recognised” by the government towards payment of teachers’ salary. These private schools apparently are the only “recognised” schools left which till now did not receive any financial assistance from the state government.

The exact number of girl students who would benefit from the school is not yet known. Sources in the education department confided that lists of such students had been sought from government schools.