Ahead of the Assembly elections in the state, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday narrated his vision for the development of the region. Speaking at IBN Dialogue Bihar 2.0 in Patna, the JDU leader asserted that he has always stood for "growth with justice".
Stressing that the benefits of development must reach everyone, the Bihar Chief Minister said that his government focussed on development of basic amenities and infrastructure, which is a necessity for all.
Claiming that the policies of his government has changed the face of the state, Kumar said, "Earlier when you went to villages, you would not realise even if there's a school in the area, but if you go to the same place now, you will immediately get to know where the school is."
One highlight of the JDU leader's address at the event was the policy of the government under which it promoted use of bicycles by girls.
"Girls did not use to ride bicycles even in Patna, but now they are doing it even in small villages," said Kumar.
He added that the move helped in bringing girls to schools. According to Kumar, there were just 1.70 lakh girls in class 9 when he became the Chief Minister, but now there are 8.15 lakh girl students in class 9, "so girls are in a better ration when taken into account the sex ratio".
"The move has not just brought girls to schools, the policy of giving bicycles to the girls also changed the perception of the society," said the Chief Minister.
Further stressing on the need of education among girls, the JDU leader said that it also helps in reducing the fertility rate, which has come down from 4.2 to 3.5, adding that the aim is to bring it down to 2.
However, he added that if taken into account girls who are studying in plus two, the fertility rate is as low as 1.6, which is lesser than the national average of 1.7. When taking into account girls studying in class 9, the fertility rate is 2, same as the national average.
"Not just fertility rate, but if girls study, they would not agree for child marriage and foeticide...our focus has been on these things," said Kumar.
The Bihar Chief Minister also claimed that "people have started trusting the public health care system because of the policies of the JDU government".
Kumar also claimed that because of 46,000 km of roads and 5,000 bridges constructed by his government, anyone could reach Patna from the farthest corner of Bihar in just six hours.
The JDU leader also made a promise to provide electricity to the remotest habitats of the state by next year. He claimed that the supply had been raised from 700 Megawatt to 3100 Megawatt, adding that over 36,000 villages were given electricity. He said the government will also help households get the connection.
According to Kumar, his government is also working on a new agricultural roadmap, which was put in place in 2012 itself. The roadmap includes key issues such as feeders, market for agriculture produce and storage of products.
The Chief Minister, however, claimed that any such development had no meaning unless there was human development, adding that his government had also worked on a ‘Mission Human Development'.
He also stressed on the need of education and boosting the sector in the state.
"In next 5 years, on basis of experience and feasibility, we decided that along with the schemes already in place, we would need some more plans for several new universities, schools and colleges," he said, adding that there would be five more medical colleges apart from new ITIs, polytechnic and nursing school for women.
Referring to a policy announced recently by him, the Chief Minister said that his government would provide a student credit card for loan up to Rs 4 lakh to those who want to pursue further education after class 12. It will be given at an interest subsidy of 3%.
"If communication skills such as basic spoken English are given to youth, their employability increases. There are 3-6 month spoken English course for all, along with other skill development plans," he added.
Kumar also promised free wifi for all universities and colleges.
Meanwhile, reiterating the demand for special status for Bihar, Kumar said that though his government has a good industrial policy in place, it does not help much as there's no tax rebates.
Later, responding to a query on his alliance with RJD, the party he had blamed for "jungle raj" in the state before coming to power, Kumar assured that "Bihar won't return to jungle raj".
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