Jharkhand government agrees to pay dues of Bihar government

Patna, July 27: The Jharkhand government has agreed to pay the dues of Bihar government employees on account of pension and and other terminal benefits that accrued to them and to the bonds raised by different public sector undertakings for which the Bihar government had stood gurantee for the undivided state.

After having a discussion with his counterpart in Jharkhand, M K Mandal, over distribution of assets and liabilities between the two states, Bihar Chief Secretary G S Kang told reporters here that the Jharkhand government had agreed to pay Rs 850 crore to Bihar out of which Rs 629 crore had been earmarked for clearing the pension dues of the employees.

The rest would be paid for clearing the dues of bonds of PSU's for which the Bihar government has stood guranttee prior to division of the state in 2000.

The Chief Secretary said that as regards adjustments of liabilites on account of pension and other terminal benefits a meeting was covnevened the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on August 23,2005 and it was agreed that since the total dues payable by Jharkhand to Bihar was mounting, it was agreed by all that jharkhand may immediately pay the current dues and the arrears in the ratio of 3:1 until a final decision was taken by the union government.

On adjustments of liabilities regarding state government guranteed bonds of the Bihar State Financial Corporation of the undivided Bihar, the Jharkhand government was directed by the MHA to riemburse Rs 30.24 crore and 88.18 crore respectively to the government of Bihar.

The MHA directive is yet to be implemented.



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