CMP whittled for state polls

Economic package for bihar among priorities

The crucial Assembly polls in Bihar and Jharkhand, which is round the corner, have made the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to expedite action on a list of 58 items culled from the national common minimum programme that reads like a revamped election manifesto.

The list, circulated by the Prime Minister's Office to all the ministries concerned last week, has the most number of incentives for these states and the rural areas. The "actionable" list as it has been called, specifically mentions Bihar in two cases.

Under the head of the Planning Commission, it talks of delivering a special economic package for Bihar immediately. The package, approved by the Plan panel during the mid-term review of the 10th Five-Year Plan, also finds mention in a section on regional imbalances.

"Even in the 10th Plan, states like Bihar, Assam and Uttar Pradesh have received allocations that are much below the national average," item number S-34 in the "actionable" list says.

Assuming that it has to assuage the administrative failure of its ally, the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar, the Congress seems to be pushing hard to give its government at the Centre, an image of a bullish votary of administrative reform. Almost all the items in the national common minimum programme on administrative reform figure in the list.

These include preparing a blueprint for revamping the public administration system, the promotion of e-governance, making the "right to information law" more progressive and enacting a Lok Pal Bill on a priority basis.

The "actionable" list, according to sources, is a pared down version of a more detailed list of 262 items prepared by the government in June-July. The new list then makes a clear selection of priorities for immediate execution. This list was discussed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with his Cabinet colleagues at the informal dinner hosted by him two days ago.

The other constituency the "actionable" list seeks to keep in good humour is the Left who have missed no opportunity to point out the government's inadequacy in focusing on the "core issues" of the national common minimum programme.

In an attempt to keep the Left happy, the "actionable" list prioritises the revamp of the rural credit system, modernising the revenue administration and the establishment of clear land titles.

Further, it talks of improving rural infrastructure and irrigation and housing for weaker sections in the rural areas. A softening of interest rates on farm loans, targeting subsidies at small and marginal farmers, farm labour and urban poor, and enacting a national rural employment scheme immediately from the bulk of the government's plans for rural development.

It also takes care of the Congress own constituency among the minorities by promising to enact a law making communal violence punishable, the provision of a constitutional status to the minorities commission, adequate funds for the National Minorities Development Corporation and the recognition and promotion of the Urdu language.