The Centre has ruled out any plan to give a special category status to Bihar, a demand by its key ally, the Janata Dal (United), prompting the Rashtriya Janata Dal to take a swipe at JDU leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Ramprit Mandal, JDU MP from Bihar’s Jhanjharpur asked the Finance Ministry if the government has any plan to provide special status to Bihar and other most backward states to promote economic growth and industrialisation. In a written response, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said case for Special Category Status for Bihar is not made out.
‘The Special Category Status for plan assistance was granted in the past by the National Development Council (NDC) to some States that were characterized by a number of features necessitating special consideration. These features included (i) hilly and difficult terrain, (ii) low population density and/or sizeable share of tribal population, (iii) strategic location along borders with neighbouring countries, (iv) economic and infrastructural backwardness and (v) non-viable nature of State finances’, the reply stated.
It added, ‘Earlier, the request of Bihar for Special Category Status was considered by an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) which submitted its Report on 30th March, 2012. The IMG came to the finding that based on existing NDC criteria, the case for Special Category Status for Bihar is not made out’.
A special status ensures more central support to a backward state to expedite its growth. While the Constitution does not provide for a special status for any state, it was introduced on the recommendations of the Fifth Finance Commission in 1969. Among the states that have received a special status so far are Jammu and Kashmir (now a Union Territory), Noreastern states and hill states such as Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
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