JD(U) general secretary deplores corruption in bureaucracy

Source : Times of India

PATNA: In what could cause major embarrassment to Nitish Kumar government in Bihar, ruling JD(U) General Secretary Shambhu Sharan Srivastava
today said "widespread corruption" in the bureaucracy was holding back investments in the state.

"The widespread corruption in the bureaucracy is holding back investments and slowing down industrialisation resulting in large-scale migration of Bihar's population to other states," Srivastava said at a press conference.

"Over the past 20 years, one-fourth of state's population has migrated elsewhere in search of jobs. The present and past governments are to be blamed for this," he said.

Srivastava, also a member of the state Legislative Council, said during the 15-year Lalu-Rabri rule there was practically no investment in the state.

He further said that under the present dispensation, though MOUs had been signed for investments worth Rs 92,000 crore, proposals to the tune of only Rs 600 crore had been materalised.

The JD(U) leader also alleged that despite being primarily an agricultural state, farmers in Bihar were not getting lucrative returns on their produce due to lack of agro business centres.

He said the Centre had allocated Rs 167 crore for setting up about 7,000 agro business centres during the current fiscal but due to agriculture department's inability to submit audit and project reports on time, the government had received only Rs 11 crore so far.

The chief minister had yesterday threatened punitive action against corrupt officials and promised appropriate legislation in the next assembly session for their speedy trial and confiscation of ill-gotten wealth
.