Author: Farzand Ahmed
Publication: India Today
Date: July 31, 2006
Introduction: Saddled with a legacy of ruin
and anarchy, Nitish Kumar is doing his best to bring Bihar out of the mess
Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi left it in
Having spent over 200 sleepless nights since they came to power and promised
to create a "new Bihar", Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy
Sushil Kumar Modi have realised that it's easier said than done. But they
have not lost hope. Says Nitish, "We started from a big zero. There was
no governance. Even Cabinet meetings were not held for months. Now I am taking
post-facto (Cabinet) decisions." Modi admits, "This might not have
happened if Lalu had continued as the chief minister. Rabri Devi just did
not understand what governance meant. She simply messed up everything."
Clearly, the government is not only performing the task it has assigned to
itself but is also clearing the mess it believes was left behind by the Lalu-Rabri
combine.
These are only "teething troubles",
insists Nitish. He spends the day in the secretariat with officials and burns
the midnight oil alone in his massive Anne Marg bungalow, drawing up plans
for a "better tomorrow" with a notebook on his table and a huge
plasma TV on the wall facing his revolving chair. He has already turned the
chief minister's residence into a hi-tech complex. Gone are the cow sheds
in the backyard where Lalu's Jersey cows, buffaloes and horses used to live
in luxury. They will soon be replaced by halls for a Janta Durbar. The famous
outhouse from where Lalu used to hold court will be turned into a conference
room with video-conferencing facilities.
The Nitish government is also giving the Secretariat
a new look in tune with his corporate style. The chambers of the chief minister,
deputy chief minister, ministers and top bureaucrats have been refurbished
and their old Ambassador cars are being replaced with spanking new Scorpios.
Both Nitish and Modi firmly believe that the "first impression is the
last impression" and they have investors to impress. No wonder paan stains
have disappeared from walls and staircases.
It was social justice for Lalu. For Nitish,
the only invigorating thing is development. "Social justice does not
mean hollow vote bank politics. It should mean politics of economics,"
Modi asserts. Nitish adds: "A lot is being done. What can I do if you
don't see it? I work for 12-13 hours a day. The entire state machinery is
trying hard to bring Bihar back on track."
Nitish Kumar can go on explaining his mission
in a tone varying from hope to despair: "We spent the first six months
giving shape to a system that had been erased in the past in a systematic
manner. Even on the law and order front we have made a mark. Our tough stand
has sent shivers down the spines of the criminals and dons. The government
adopted a very simple approach that worked-instead of clubbing all the sections
of the Indian Penal Code and Criminal Penal Code together, the administration
picked up offences committed under the Arms' Act and trials began leading
to quick convictions. Under the Arms' Act, sentences range from three to seven
years. Since in most of the cases the criminals had used arms, the Arms' Act
cases were initiated first. Once the criminals were in jail under one Act,
other offences like kidnapping, dacoity and robberies were taken up and tried."
The government, according to the chief minister,
has successfully smashed the parallel economy and 'goonda banks' controlled
by the mafia and kidnappers. Even Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram was
shocked to know about 'goonda banks' that were flourishing because nationalised
banks were not lending. "A bank is not a bank if it does not provide
loans to the needy," he said in Patna recently.
Nitish talks of another path-breaking experiment
to control law and order. The police force was understaffed, ill-equipped
and ill-trained, so the government hired over 5,000 retired army men, gave
them uniforms and weapons and deployed them in sensitive pockets. "Recruitment,
training and induction of new police personnel will take a minimum of two
years while the law and order situation demands immediate attention. It's
not only our priority but also a prerequisite for development and investment."
The result is obvious. The recent 10-phase panchayat polls did not, for the
first time, see much of violence. While the 2001 polls had witnessed 1,409
violent incidents and killing of 90 people, this time there were only 52 incidents
and 16 fatalities.
On its very first day, the Nitish Government
had promised that construction of roads and bridges would start immediately
with the help of unused state and central funds. Asked if the chief minister
had forgotten his promise, he confides, "One cannot realise the problems.
It's easier to blame this government than to understand the kind of teething
troubles we are facing. Two-thirds of the posts of engineers are vacant, the
posts of chief engineers and superintendent engineers in many departments
are vacant, and there are no engineers even to prepare project reports. These
posts are filled through promotions, but 70 per cent of the engineers are
facing vigilance inquiries and about two-thirds of them are involved in the
bitumen scam (1996-97 era). They can't be promoted. Engineers can't be imported
either. Due to lack of economic activity and lawlessness in the past 15 years,
over 90 per cent of big contractors have migrated to other states. Despite
repeated tender notices no bids have been received for building of roads.
Bihar does not even have hot-mixing plants. But we have found a way out-all
development work in a district are being clubbed together to attract outside
contractors, hot-mixing plants are being purchased and will be leased to contractors
to start work. About 50 per cent of the posts of block development officers,
who are responsible for development at the village level, were vacant while
the chairman of the Public Service Commission was in jail on corruption charges."
This is the Lalu legacy of ruin. The change
is slow, but visible. The 12th Finance Commission has sanctioned Rs 13,000
crore per year (Rs 65,000 crore in all) for five years for development work,
the highest allocation among all states. Rs 300 crore extra per year will
be spent on creating infrastructure in health and education. To make Bihar
a modern state, an administrative reforms commission and investment and infrastructure
boards have been set up. The state planning board, which was dormant for years,
has been revived. A Birla Institute of Technology and a National Law College
are being opened in the state. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is personally
interested in reviving the glory of Nalanda, the seat of learning in ancient
days. In a bid to end agrarian unrest and help landless peasants, there will
soon be a Bihar Land Reforms Commission.
What worries this government the most is the
absence of good officers. Says Modi, "If we could get just 40 good young
and active IAS officers to be posted as district magistrates and a dozen good
hardworking senior officers to man important departments as secretaries, things
would automatically brighten up." Unmindful of the criticism, Nitish
and Modi live with hope: "Bihar can't be rebuilt in a day." And
the people still have faith in the new power couple of the state.
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Lalu's Legacy
* Two-thirds of the posts of engineers are
lying vacant along with the posts of chief engineers and superintendents.
* Seventy per cent of engineers are facing
vigilance enquiries; two-thirds are involved in the bitumen scam and can't
be promoted to fill senior level posts.
* Ninety per cent of contractors have migrated
to other states due to lawlessness in Bihar. No bids have been received for
building of roads. The state does not even have a hot-mixing plant.
* About 50 per cent of block development officers'
posts are vacant, while the chairman of the Public Service Commission is in
jail on corruption charges.
