This refers to Sanjaya Baru’s article titled “Importance of Nitish” (November 15). There is no denying the fact that for India to achieve a high growth rate in the next decade, Bihar needs to do well on all fronts. However, Nitish Kumar’s re-election may not necessarily ensure a high growth rate in Bihar. Though, he has indeed done some good work, especially in comparison to Lalu Prasad’s poor performance from 1990 to 2005, Bihar is still in a state of underdevelopment.
On all the key socio-economic indicators, Bihar stands last in the country compared to other states. Its per capita income is one-fifth of other states like Maharashtra and Gujarat. The power supply in Bihar, barring Patna, is highly erratic. The entire educational set-up needs to be revamped. Bihar may have grown at a rate of more than 11 per cent from 2004 to 2009 but there has been limited generation of employment in the state. The private sector investment in the state is almost missing. Bihar cannot be developed by leaders of Bihar alone, the Centre and private sector need to come together to develop the state for the betterment of India.
Vivek Sharma, on email
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