Work on about 40,000 projects will start in more than 8000 panchayats of Bihar from Monday, as part of the state's efforts to live up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mantra of "jaan bhi, jahaan bhi" (life as well as livelihood), Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said on Sunday.
Taking to Twitter, he said over five lakh labourers will get jobs as soon as work on the pending projects commences in 8,386 panchayats of the state.
Sushil Kumar Modi, who is also state's finance minister, noted that temporary centres would be set up in the villages to facilitate the process of linking bank accounts of labourers with their Aadhaar cards for easy withdrawal of money, especially during times of crisis.
The Bihar government has already issued an order to open it offices from April 20 and fast-track official work.
All government officers of Group A and B categories will have to be present in the office on working days, a General Administration Department order said on Saturday.
As for Group C staff and those on contract, 33 per cent of the workforce will have to attend office, it said.
Highlighting the state government's measures to deal with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the deputy CM claimed that Bihar was the first state to launch door-to- door screening, on the lines of the pulse polio campaign.
Health workers in the state have knocked the doors of 4.32 lakh homes so far, he said.
Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for showing concern over the low rate of COVID-19 testing, he said, "He has no idea about the percentages at the national level or the state level... Along with fighting coronavirus, there is a need to fight the 'ziddi' (stubborn) virus of information lacunae."
Maintaining that Bihar has set an example for the country in effectively handling the coronavirus crisis, Sushil Kumar Modi said the state was the first to provide a special assistance of Rs 1000 to natives stranded outside amid the lockdown.
"Jharkhand and now West Bengal and Odisha are also doing it (providing monetary aid to migrants)," he said.
Underscoring another first, Sushil Kumar Modi said Bihar has taken the decision to provide additional salary of one month to health workers engaged in tackling the coronavirus outbreak.
With detection of one more COVID-19 case in Nalanda on Sunday, the total count in Bihar has risen to 87. Of them, two people have succumbed to the disease.
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