Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi talks to Aditi Phadnis about the challenges of governing the state.
You came to power five years ago. You are looking at elections in less than a year. What did you find when you came to power and what are you leaving behind?
When we came to power in November 2005, our biggest challenge was lack of governance. In Gujarat, Maharashtra, and in so many other states, regimes changed but there was a system that kept working. In Bihar, 15 years of Lalu-Rabri regime undermined the system so much that it was ready to collapse. Actually, I think the process began in 1961 after the death of Sri Babu (Sri Krishna Sinha, chief minister from 1946 to 1961). After that, chief ministers lasted less than two years. But Bihar’s real downfall began with the 15-year rule of Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi.
And you came to power after this 15-year spell
Yes, and the biggest problem was law and order. For Bihar, four years ago, safety was a bigger priority for the government than development — what was the use of development if people did not feel secure? Today, there is no fear psychosis. People are not leaving Bihar in droves, as was the case then.
The greatest asset this government has created is the force of 11,000 retired armymen who have supplemented the state government’s law enforcement efforts. Now, there is no major crime. And migration, first of labourers and then of professionally-qualified people like doctors and engineers, has been halted.
Isn’t this assertion based on anecdotal evidence? Because data are not available
Yes, I have no data or figures but there are ways to measure migration. Consider these facts. Four years ago, there were two daily flights between Patna and New Delhi. Now, there are as many as seven flights. There are five flights a day between Kolkata and Patna. Earlier, the number was two. We now have an international airport because the state is a major centre for Buddhist pilgrims. Four years ago, there was no international flight — the odd chartered flight would come once a week. Today, 25 flights touch down every week from Bangkok, Colombo, Paro and Yangon.
Take migrant labourers. The other day, a delegation visited me to plead for help for the Bhojpuri film industry. It was a vibrant industry four or five years ago, the delegation said, but was now in a decline. I asked why. They said the viewership had fallen. Earlier, Punjab and Mumbai were the two biggest markets for Bhojpuri films. But now, because people are returning to Bihar, the producers have to invest more to produce films and the viewership is declining. Shortage of labourers from Bihar has already hit agriculture in Punjab. And now, from what I hear about the labour crisis in Ludhiana, industry is affected as well. They worked in Ludhiana at much lower rates as there was a time when there was no work in Bihar. But this is no longer so. Bihar’s job market is booming.
Bihar used to get a bad name because of the poor state of its roads, schools and hospitals. This is no longer so.
You have recruited a number of teachers to boost education. But what about schools?
We allocated Rs 8,600 crore for education in 2009-10 alone. The budget provision for 2009-10 is 30.16 per cent higher than the last year.
We are distributing 1 million cycles to Class IX students. There are two other social welfare schemes. Widows are a vulnerable section of society. Even the government of India gives them an allowance only when they are in the age group of 40-65. What about the younger widows? In Bihar, we have decided that even if a girl is widowed at 18, she will get Rs 200 a month. This will in addition to what she will get from the Centre. The state government will pay for this from its own pocket.
The same goes for the handicapped. The central scheme puts an age bar on allowance for the handicapped. We have done away with the age bar.
But these are social welfare schemes. They represent a net outgo. They are necessary but contribute to the deficit.
We are spending on roads and infrastructure as well. Rs 5,000 crore have been kept aside for roads for just one year. Bihar has become one of the largest consumers of cement. Its year-on-year growth in consumption is 27 per cent whereas the all-India average is 9 per cent. The figure for East India is 17-18 per cent.
The opposition says you are misusing central funds
There was a time when Bihar used to take money from the Centre and return it because it had no funds to implement centrally-funded projects. This is no longer true. We are taking more money from the Centre than ever. We had to begin at the beginning whereas other state governments, even if they changed, inherited systems that were up and running.
You have two other problems: Left extremism and fiscal deficit
I admit Naxalism continues to be a problem, although it is now confined to two pockets, specifically along the Bihar-Jharkhand border. We don’t treat Naxalites as criminals but as political prisoners. But yes, industry is reluctant to invest if it apprehends a threat.
Panchayat elections helped as many militants came into the democratic process and participated in the elections. But it is a problem, I accept this.
Our fiscal deficit is well below the fiscal law targets, but I can see that the coming year is going to be difficult . Bihar has an outstanding loan of around Rs 35,000 crore. We’ve had to hike pay and pension of government employees. And we will lose nearly Rs 5,000 crore by way of central taxes. We’re expecting the 13th Finance Commission to submit its report at the end of the year. So, for 2010-11, with greater devolution of taxes, we hope we will get a better deal. But next year is going to be hard.
