Centre rules out Nitish Kumar's demand for special status for Bihar
PTC News Desk: The Centre has ruled out the possibility to grant Bihar special category status, a key demand of its main ally, the Janata Dal (United). The development prompted the Rashtriya Janata Dal to take on JDU leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Ramprit Mandal, a JDU MP from Bihar's Jhanjharpur, had questioned the Finance Ministry if the government intends to grant special status to Bihar and other most backward states in order to boost economic growth and industrialisation.
In a written statement, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary stated that the "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 response read.
"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 provides additional central support to a backward state in order to accelerate its progress. While no state has special status under the Constitution, it was drafted in 1969 in response to the Fifth Finance Commission's recommendations. Jammu & Kashmir (now a Union Territory), the Northeastern states, and hill states such as Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have all earned special status.
- PTC NEWS
