PM Modi may not fully unveil Bihar package
People of Bihar and also the entire political class, including the NDA circles, are awaiting PM Narendra Modi’s one-day state visit on July 25 as he is expected to announce the components of a special package for Bihar to spur its development.
Soon after his arrival at Patna airport at 10.15am, the PM would move to nearby Veterinary College campus from where he would inaugurate by remote the 38-km-long Daniyawan-Biharsharif railway line, the new campus of IIT-Patna at Bihta, the start of Jagdishpur-Haldia gas pipeline project, besides flagging off Patna-Mumbai Suvidha train and launching the Rs 5,000-crore Deendayal Upadhyaya Rural Electrification Programme.
From there, the PM would move to Shri Krishna Memorial Hall to address the national meet of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), being held in Patna for the first time. To conclude his activities on the day, the PM would fly by a chopper to Chakkar Maidan at Muzaffarpur to address a rally of the Bihar NDA to sound the poll bugle for the assembly polls later this year.
The understanding, however, in the state BJP circles is that the PM might not disclose all the components of the special package that the Centre has already worked on.
For, it is felt that since the state assembly election is due in October-November, there is still a cushion period of slightly over two-and-a-half months for the PM to utilize, so as to make the announcements in a manner to keep the NDA geared up and people of the state engaged to him, as he is the face on which the NDA would be seeking votes.
In this backdrop, no one is willing to quantify the special package in terms of money. “How can one say in advance what all the new schemes for the state he will mention, or what would be monetary value of his announcements,” said a senior state BJP functionary.
Leader of opposition in the state assembly Nand Kishore Yadav said all the Union ministers from the state – Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dharmendra Pradhan, Radha Mohan Singh, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Giriraj Singh, Ram Kripal Yadav and Upendra Kushwaha – worked in their respective departments overtime to shortlist the schemes for the state. The PM is expected to mention them, even allotment of coal blocks to the state by coal minister Piyush Goyal.
In fact, during his earlier visit to Patna, petroleum minister Pradhan, on the assurance of Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), had said that the work on the laying of the gas pipeline in Patna would start in July, which now the PM is to inaugurate. That apart, his ministry has taken steps for the revival of industrial hub at Barauni (Begusarai) including expansion of Barauni oil refinery, establishment of a petro complex and revival of Barauni Fertiliser Corporation, as demanded by GAIL, to make the gas pipeline viable.
“The development of the country’s eastern region, including Bihar, as an alternative major foodgrain hub is also high on the agenda of the PM. Schemes for Bihar found mention copiously in the last two Union budgets, too,” Yadav said.