Issue 14 (Low Res) - [PDF Document] (2024)

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August 16-31, 2010 |Vol. 01 Issue 14 | `30

Ss Mnon on c s

CommonwlGms

The Delhi government is not responsible.The Organising committeeis not responsibleKalmadi is not responsible. The sports minisisnot responsible. Thats a whole lot ofirresponsible agencies, if youask me.

dreaM

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3/52www.GovernanceNow.com

EditorB V [emailprotected]

Managing EditorAjay [emailprotected]

Peoples EditorAnupam Goswami

Deputy EditorsPrasanna Mohanty, Ashish Mehta,Ashish Sharma

Assistant EditorsSamir Sachdeva, Kapil Bajaj

Special CorrespondentsBrajesh Kumar, Trithesh Nandan

Principal CorrespondentsGeetanjali Minhas, Danish Raza,JasleenKaur

CorrespondentsShivani Chaturvedi, Neha Sethi,Sarthak Ray, SonalMatharu

Chief of Bureau (Special Features)Sweta[emailprotected]

DesignParveen Kumar, Noor Mohammad

PhotographerRavi Choudhary

MarketingAsst. Manager MarketingShivangi Gupta

[emailprotected] & DistributionHeadRajshekhar Chakrabarty

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Manager ITSantosh Gupta

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Design consultantsLDI Graphics Pvt.[emailprotected]

Printed, published and owned byMarkand Adhikari. Printed atUtkarshArt Press Pvt Ltd, D-9/3, Okhla Indus-trial Area Phase I,New Delhi, 110020.Tel: 011-41636301, and published at24A, MindmillCorporate Tower, Sector16A, Film City, Noida 201301. Tel:0120-3920555. Editor: B V Rao (Responsible forselection of newsunder the PRB Act)

Volume 01 Issue 14

UPENG03560/24/1/[emailprotected]

CoverPhoto: Ravi ChoudharyImaging: Ashish AsthanaDesign: AnandHirvey

FOUNDERS TEAM

Gautam Adhikari

Markand Adhikari

Anurag Batra([emailprotected])

08 how writ o state was reestablisheDIts a case study of how toreestablish the writ ofthe state. Nitish Kumar has done so througha se-ries of pragmatic measures, reversing the stereo-typed imageof Bihar and Biharis. Now is the timefor authentic resurgence ofthe state

26 bar u-naonalm mu uume cae. ta

e la ale i wan o fg or bar.Nitish Kumar unplugged

17 bar ecape rom crmnaly In terms of law and order, Bihar hasrisen from the

ashes. Today people dont prize anything as muchas they do safetyand security

32 boomown lueJust why is the industry cribbing in Bihar? Foroncein this state, the answers lie in politicians sinsofomission

24 healcare recoveryTime was when government hospitals were seenasstairway to heaven. Then came the National RuralHealth Missionand the healing is on

38 inervew weel mnerVradra sng

Domestic steel in-

dustry needs levelplaying eld for ac-cess to mines

42 inv n n mman M

Planning Commis-sion will need torefurbish its toolsto foreseeinto adynamic world,to offer change

46 Mueum omgovernanceSeveral apex culturinstitutions arehealess, priceless collections sealed off.

50 png sFrom PMs pressmeet, circa 2014!

contents

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4/52GovernanceNow | August 16-31, 20104

sm

GmIf the Commonwealth Games areabout national prestige, will webeleft with much of it?

Each passing day brings out more embarrassing detailsabout theCommonwealth Games preparations, esta-blishing clearly how it ismore about a brazen loot of publicmoney and grossincompetence/collusion of a whole setof powerful peoplepoliticians,bureaucrats and sports

managersthan anything to do with our sporting prowess.To beginwith, the cost overrun has been colossalfrom Rs 1,899

crore at the time of bidding in 2003 to Rs 35,000 crore. Yet,even thebasic infrastructurestadiums, living quarters of players,practicegrounds, approach roads to venues and beautication driveinthe cityis not in place. The Games organising committee (OC)seemsbusier explaining various scams than in preparing forthecompetition.

Surprisingly, the rst one to blow the whistle was anear-dysfunctional Central Vigilance Commission. It madetellingcomments: ineligible agencies were awarded work; almostallorganisations executing works for the Games (MCD, PWD, DDA,NDMC,CPWD, RITES) considered inadmissible factors to jack-upprice; pricebids were tampered with after being opened and poor

quality of works certied as good. Sitaram Yechuri, a CPMmemberof parliament, provided more damning evidence when hequoted

ocial records to show how the renovation work on stadiumswas

several times costlier than building new onesRs 961 crore forthJawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Rs 669 crore for the India GandhiIndoStadium, Rs 262 crore for the Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium andson. Contrast this with a state-of-art stadium built in Nagpur forR84 crore.

Suresh Kalmadi, OC chairman, tried to brazen it out at rst b

soon wickets started falling. Documents surfaced to show howhugsums were being siphoned o to an UK-based company. Kalmajustiedit by aunting an ocial document that turned out to bdoctored andthe rst wicket fellSanjay Mahindroo, OCs depuDG, resigned anddisappeared. Then OC treasurer Anil Khann

resigned after it was revealed that his sons rm had got thecontrato lay synthetic tennis turfs. Two other senior ocials, T SDarbaand M Jeychandran, were suspended for nancialirregularities.

Then came the shocking revelations about hiring sportsequipmenand accessories at prices highthan their actual cost.Though thforced the OC to go for outrighpurchase of sportsequipmentmore shocking details wewaiting. All the nancial dealshaactually been cleared by an apebody that included top bureaucraofthe countryM Ramachandra(secretary, urban developmenSindhushreeKhullar (secretarsports and youth aairs), SanjKumar Mittal,(additionsecretary, nance) and RahBhatnagar (joint secretary,sporand youth aairs). And none them raised an eyebrow atanpoint!

More scams followed. The Ohad contracted an Australia

sports marketing rm to n

E D I T O R I A L S

a fnn d d yn x dy md ny m mn ndvmn, nd fnn.

Omar Abdullah is the wrong man at

the wrong place at the wrong time.

Dont count on him to suddenly

personify the change that the Kash-

miris voted for in the last elections.

That seems to be the unfortunate if unavoidable

inference from the events of the past couple of

months. From here on, it will take nothing short of

a miracle to restore public faith in the state govern-

ment. The history of the troubled valley suggests that

the more likely scenario will be a relentless state of

misrule on part of the state government and

mistrust on part of the people punctuated by spells

of sheer chaos. Until, that is, the inevitable change of

actors takes place all over again sooner or

later. And so the tragedy of Kashmir, betrayal of

public faith and abdication of responsibility by a

succession of sons of the soil, continues.

With just a little more will to govern on part of

the incumbent chief minister, it could all have

been otherwise. Here is a young ambitious politi-

cian who had assumed power by elbowing out his

father from the job and was hailed as a beacon of

hope not only because he was fresh and unsullied

but also because unlike the senior Abdullah he w

seen as serious-minded. He had made just the rig

noises and political moves too, by dissociating him

self with the Bharatiya Janata Party which had earli

made him a minister at the centre and by seizing h

opportunity to become a trusted ally of the ascenda

Congress party.

As the past few months have proved, thoug

histrionics in parliament and handling a state

challenging as Jammu & Kashmir are complete

dierent things. What is most disappointing is th

as chief minister the junior Abdullah seems to hav

cultivated a penchant for doing the most ill-advise

things at the most inopportune moments. So yo

have a leader who is said to have gone picnicking

Pahalgam amid the raging re in parts of the valle

You have a chief minister who can neither do wit

out the central security forces nor come clean o

his need for a calibrated armed response to the u

rest on the ground. Worst of all, perhaps, you hav

a duly-elected representative of the people who

The man in the muddleDont count on Omar Abdullah to suddenlypersonifythe change that Kashmiris voted for in the lastelections

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seldom seen among his people, a ruler who is un-

able to connect with those he seeks to lead. No chief

minister in Kashmir can do worse than to be seen

running to New Delhi seeking a bail-out. That, too,

after having painted his people as perpetrators of vi-

olence that cannot be contained without giving the

security forces a free run.

Dont be fooled by the demand for a political pack-

age from New Delhi either. It is simply an admission

of failure of governance on part of the chief minis-

ter, who has ended up doing so early in his regime

what his predecessors routinely did when they ran

out of excuses: blame their own ineciencies on the

centre. Political resolution of the Kashmir issue be-

tween India and Pakistan notwithstanding there is

sucient room for good governance in the state. En-

trenched interests, including the bureaucracy and

the separatists, doubtless favour status quo to keep

receiving special central funds but with the ongo-

ing implosion of Pakistan there has emerged a real

opportunity to govern Kashmir back to normalcy.

Unlike in the past, there is no real urge among th

Kashmiris to join Pakistan, even as they remain d

trustful of India.

What the situation in Kashmir does not call fo

is to link every single outburst against the securi

forces to Pakistan. But what it does require on pa

of the chief minister is to be seen as a representati

of the people who are losing their lives without ev

really encouraging the people to resort to violenc

The junior Abdullah has failed to achieve this de

icate balance. In Kashmir, he is seen as somebod

who has failed to empathise with the masses. In th

rest of India, he is seen as somebody who can stan

up to the separatists but who is too incompetent

govern. He has only himself to blame for these im

pressions. It is unrealistic to expect him to sudden

transform into a man of the masses. But his belate

attempt to console the families of those injured

clashes with the security forces may just give hi

the lease of life that he so badly needs to beg

to understand his responsibilities.

sponsors for the Games. Therms own contribution was verylittleas most of the sponsorshipcame from our own PSUs, but asper thecontract, it was to get 15to 23 percent commission on all

of it. The OC had also committedto give another 5 percent ofitsrevenue to the Indian OlympicAssociation that Kalmadiheads,purely as a charity. Both had to bescrapped by the OC laterbecauseof public outcry.

As for our loudmouth MP ManiShankar Aiyar, who has been themostvocal critic of the Games,it turns out that he played amajor roleas the sports ministerbetween 2006 and 2008 inblocking most of thework-relatedproposals, leading to delay andcost overrun to the tuneof at leastRs 1,710 crore. This was revealed

by the sports ministry ocials!Amidst all these hullabaloo,

Kalmadi, the man responsiblefor much of the mess,remainsunfazed. He has even orderedan inquiry to nd out theguilty!But our appeal to him is: PleaseGo. The Games cant be abiggerasco without you. And sinceyou cant be sacked, the OC beingaregistered society, you wouldserve the Games and the country

best by quitting the scene now!

Sculaism cms i tw ditis:th ist is yu gad vaity,vailla lavu; adlts call thth citical sculaism sustai-

abl sculaism. I yu a tld that th aits i sm city ad b cdmigthvilc i yu d t kw which cmmui-ty was at th civig d which paty is ipw th, th yu a a advcat thsimpliid vsi, a dalig u mdia as all thswh gt thi piis i ady-t-sv packts. Th th vsi is bttillustatd by ctvts i Kala.

A cllg lctu ppad a qusti

pap that allgdly isultd th Ppht.May wuld cdm this, but activistsPpula Ft Idia (PFI) allgdly chppd th tachs ight had i aly July.

Th stat gvmt th Lt DmcaticFt sms itt t puish th guilty. ChiMiistV S Achuthaada has b makiga sis statmts agaist th cmmu-al cs. It isa gaisati that wkst dsty pac ad cmmual amity i K-ala by icitigcmmual passis. It dstpst th Muslim cmmuity, h tldth statassmbly.

Wh was th last tim w had such aktalkm cmads aybdy ls?

Th Lt pssibly has its w ass alplitik as PFI supptd th Cgss thlast Lk Sabha lctis. But th mats hav cm t such a pass that th Ltbig accusd yig a Hidu vt bak

But this matt svs th pups illutatig th th scd schl sculaismAd bL K Advai cms ad says this pcisly what h had i mid wh h cith tmpsud-sculaism as ppsd al sculaism, lt us claiy that ud vsi thismisusd ccpt ca th Gjaat vilc b justiid. Ad callig it blat abati cad littl byd a

ig yu pais yu vcabulay.It is vy much i th itst ths wh

bliv i qual spct all ligithat thy d t allw ptty pliticias hijackth ccpt ad us it i lctiiIslamic tism is as much a ality aHidutvaxtmism.

I th will b a maist sustaiabsculaism, its pambl will say that thtwsids at battl a t Hidus ad Muslim th ig lmts th tw cmmitis, thBJP t al ad Cgss pluTh tw sids at battl a ths wh blivi (cmmual)vilc as a plitical tl aths wh dt.

Here is a chie minister who isseldom seen among his people,whois unable to connect with

those he seeks to lead. No chieminister in Kashmir can doworsethan to be seen runningto New Delhi seeking a bail-out.That, too,ater having paintedhis people as perpetratorso violence that cannotbecontained without giving thesecurity orces a ree run.

N, mvd m?News from Gods own country: Left Democratic Front chiefminister seeksto contain Islamic fundamentalism

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The quality of articles in Gover-nance Now is superior. I havebeenreading Governance Now onlineand very soon Ill be subscribingtothe magazine. Please keep up thegood work. There should be nocom-promise with truth.

Priyanka DubeyOn email

Adding a new dimension

Recently I saw your magazine, Gov-ernance Now. Really, its verygood.Articles are relevant and give a newdimension to issues. Ifound themreally useful.

Vishweshwar BhatBangalore

We raise this ques-tion because the CBhas a completelycleanrecord in thisregardit has nev-er nailed or jailed apoliticianinvolvedin any sort of wrongdoing. Lalu Prasad roaming free andthRs 1,000 crore fod-der scam has beenforgotten. JagdishTytler andSajjanKumar, accused of

involvement in theanti-Sikh riots, areroaming free too.Mayawatiand Mu-layam Singh Yadavare going about thebusinesswithouthindrances despitethe disproportionatassets cases pend-ingagainst both ofthem for years nowThere have been seeral such casesin thpast as well the ha

wala case, the tele-com scam, the SyedModi murder case,theBofors case thlist is endless.

What would in-

spire condence inthe CBI then? Theprime minister maysay that theCBI isnot the CongressBureau of Investi-gation, or maybeit is noteven theCongress Bureauof Intimidation be-cause it becomesahandmaiden to allpolitical parties inpower. But surely,it isneither com-petent nor non-pli-able to inspire ourcondence!

Join the debate,send your views to

[emailprotected]

So many debates on TV and stingoperations in the past fewyearshave hardly impacted corruption.The media, particularly theelec-

tronic variety, has contributed sub-stantially in highlightingthe is-sues, but the benefits remain onlyisolated and ad-hocbecause theroot cause is never addressed.The root cause is a lackof de-

terrent which is because of delaysin the justice deliverysystem.Politicians and bureaucrats hideunder that most abusedphiloso-phy of jurisprudence, innocent tillproven guilty, to duckaction evenin the most brazen acts of corrup-tion and criminality.Karnataka chiefminister B S Yeddyurappa recent-

ly used this escape route to avoidkicking the Reddy brothers outofhis cabinet and even our so-calledcleanest of clean primeministers,Manmohan Singh, has used it inthe past to save taintedministers.The delayed judgments coming

anywhere after 10 to 25 years evenin high-profile cases like theMum-bai blasts, Upahar Cinema fire, Jes-sica Lall murder, NitishKatara mur-der and the Union Carbide disaster,clearly depict thehorrible state ofaffairs of the Indian judicial system.It isfurther evidenced from the

fact that more than 3,00,00,000cases are pending at bothtrialand higher levels. Of course, CJIS H Kapadia has made adistinc-tion between pendency of casesand cases in arrears. Heinter aliasaid that 60 percent of the cases intrial courts are lessthan a year oldwhich may be termed as pending,

leaving only one crore cases inthe pending category. The pointis,even that figure is not small andshould be a cause for majorworry.

Law minister M Veerappa Moilyhas said that settling a casetakeson an average 15 years in India.This kind of delay takesaway

all fear of punishment from poli-ticians and babus, and onlyaddsto the instances and in-tensity of the abuse of pow-er andauthority. And that iswhy there is no will in any gov-ernment toget down to a seri-ous overhaul of our judicial sys-tems. Thusgovernments willnot easily or willingly commitbig budgets for thepurpose.

Former CJI K G Balakrishnan onceremarked that one branch ofthestate the executive cannot frus-trate the functioning ofanoth-er branch - judiciary by hold-ing and denying it thenecessaryresources, financial or otherwise.The power of controlover financ-es enjoyed by the centre is vest-ed in it by theconstitution withthe obligation that all branch-es of state aresufficiently sup-ported. The greatest institution is

accorded the least attention. Is ad-ministration of justice notan es-sential feature of development?Prime minister ManMohanSingh

also has spoken repeatedly aboutthis problem. Four years agohesaid at a conference: One of theshortcomings noticed in ourjudi-cial system is the delay of dis-posal of cases. This maypartlybe due to the high vacant posi-tions at all levels ofjudiciary Iwill ask the government to reflectin what way thecentral govern-ment in cooperation with statescan come back to aconferencelike this in future to ensure thatwe have taken effectiveaction todeal with this pressing problem.

Merely acknowledging the prob-lem is not enough. Is thereasignificant change in this re-gard in the last four years?If wereally need to refurbish ourjudicial system, we will needtoneutralise the governments biggestexcuse: lack of funds. That iswhy Ithink we should raise the funds forjudicial restructuring byimposing a

Judicial Cess @ 1 percent on directtaxes. This alone could fetchmorethan Rs 4,000 crore every year.Prima facie, the levy ofJudicial

cess may appear to be anti-peo-

ple, but considering the class ofpeople on which it will belev-ied and the benefits it will bring,it will be very productiveand inthe interest of public at large.So, judicial cess,anybody?

Anil Kumar BagaiNew Delhi

R E A D E R S S PA C E

Write to Governance NowWe invite your suggestions, reactionstothe stories and analyses and, of

course, your own take on all matters

related to governance. You can emailor send snail mail. Allletters must

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[emailprotected] Publishing Division

24A Mindmill Corporate TowersFilm City, Sector 16A, Noida201301

Judcal ce can rke a e roo o corrupon

No compromise

with truth

Will CBI beable to nailAmit Shah?

Debate

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B V Rao

At the height of Lalu

Prasads reign in Bihar

(I had written on

exchange4media.com

in 2009) Shilpa Shetty rocked

the nation with a hip-gyrating

number that went like this: Ek

chumma tu mujhko udhar dei-do/

chahe badle mein UP, Bihar lai-

e-lo (Give me a kiss and take UP

and Bihar in exchange).

Thats a throwaway price, even

for a state as looked down upon

as Bihar was. But in the lastve years, thankfully, Bihar seemsto have turned its back

on the wasted Lalu years and earlier. The story from the

political badland is of Nitish Kumar and the new Bihar he

is building.

About time, too.

For too long has Bihar been seen as a drag on the country,

for way too long has lampooning Bihar been a national

pastime. The great communicator that he is, Lalu knew

how to play to the cameras. While he himself became a

national star by projecting a careful caricature of himself,

in so doing, he reinforced the national stereotype of Bihar

as a joke. While Bihar needed him to play the lead role, he

was far too busy playing the best actor in a comic role for15agonisingly long years.

Lalu may have been forgiven his idiosyncrasies hadhe cared toshow even a mild weakness for governance.

Contrarily, his rule was noted for the full abdication of

the responsibilities of the State to criminal gangs. The

heartening thing about Nitishs ve years in power is that

he is deconstructing Lalus Bihar not merely by matching

political chicanery, but by good governance, or at least,

attempted good governance.

He has succeeded not only in (partially) cranking up

a dormant bureaucracy into action, but in establishing

the authority of the State. He did this by taking the

government to the doorstep for

people to touch and feel it. This

was perhaps the purpose of his

Vikas (development) Yatra of

2009 and Vishwas (trust) Yatra

of 2010. If the very sight of the

distant, faceless government

of Patna pitching tents in their

midst overawed them; the sight of

the Chief Minister taking a 2-km

morning walk from the camp into

the nearest village oored them.

I asked a little boy if he knew

who was coming. His reply was

telling: Sarkar aa rahi hain!(The

government is coming!).

Of course, there is a down side to

such demonstrative democracy.

Nitish has personally received

bagfuls of written complaints

and raised hopes of a people laid

low by decades of State neglect.

He has his task cut out in living

up to the raised expectations. But that is the point. Notthe

roads he has built, not the criminals he has locked up, not

the 50% reservation for women hes givenNitishs biggest

achievement is he has taught the average Bihari to hope

again. That hope will have to be addressed. By somebody

else, if not Nitish, but addressed it will have to be.

In a few months, the people of Bihar will elect a new

government. From all the articles that follow in thisspecial

State of Bihar Report it does seem like Nitish has a case

for re-election. But complaints remain because, as our lead

essay by Shaibal Gupta points out, substantial change in

Bihar, fossilised by a century and more of non-governance,

is not easy. Also, development is never enough or neverfastenough to touch all spheres of State activity and all

sections of people as Nitish Kumar himself candidly admits

in a rare interview with Ajay Singh. Nitish deserves the

credit, and perhaps even the hype, not because of what

he has achieved but because of what he has initiated. We

do hope he gets a second chance so he can run faster andrunbetter. We need that to revive our agging faith in

inclusive politics and good governance.

We need that to tell Shilpa Shetty that Bihars exchange

rate has far exceeded a few gyrations and a kiss! n

[emailprotected]

BeCauSe Bihar

deServeS Better

E D I T O R S N O T E

ashish asthana

BIHARstate o

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B

ihar seems tobe reinventingitself. The im-age of Bihar inthecongnitiveworld of Indi-ans was nev-

er so high in almost 100 yearssince its establishment asaseparate state from the Ben-gal Presidency in 1912. Thisimage isnot just limited to In-dias shores, but has transcend-ed beyond.This is reected bythe numerous visits to Biharof ambassadors, highcommis-sioners, diplomats and high-prole journalists fromforeignnewspapers and magazines.The normally reticent diplo-matstoo have been openly ap-

preciative of the advances thestate is making. ChiefministerNitish Kumar has received ac-colades and awards forturningthe state around. In this back-drop, it is a matter ofseriousinquiry whether Bihar is in-deed on the path ofresurgence.How has this come about? Cana state like Bihar with amam-moth population and with

endemic problems of faminesand oods create a positive im-agewithout some substantivechanges in its economy? Thecritic of thepresent regime,quite expectedly, attributes thisimage makeover toexaggerat-

ed media reports; maintainingthat the ground reality is utter-lydierent.

The critic actually sees Niti-shs ascension in acompletelydierent light. Bihars econom-ic development has been atastandstill for decades but theprocess of societal and elector-aldemocratisation had contin-ued in the state for long, possi-blypresenting the only case ofits kind in India. So, the criticseesthe installation of the pres-

ent regime as a counter-revo-lution to banish all the gainsofthat democratisation. Eventhough the social congura-tion of theruling regime is acoalition of extremes, (social-ist JDU andrightist BJP) it wasthought that it is the elite com-ponent in thecoalition that hascaptured the political space,thereby reversingthe gains of

democratisation in recent dcades. In the name of deveopment, atyrannical regimhas taken control of the statthe critic charges. Totop it, thchief minister has become prisoner of an articial,medi

constructed image of himseand has been marooned fromall types ofinformation frothe ground, related to socidisquiet and disorder.Thutalking of resurgence in the bnighted state of Bihar willbemisnomer, the critic says, ading that in reality it is stillrogue state and not a resugent one.

So what is the factual sitution? Is Bihars developmen

just a cleverly crafted myth

Is the so-called Nitish magjust an illusion? If at all hehachanged anything, what has hchanged?

None of these questions cabe answered without a deeinquiry intoBihars historicmisgovernance and economic stagnation. So lets turnthpages back to pre-Indepedence decades and post.

When critics say the New Bihar story is all hype and NitishKumar has not changed anything substantially, they areprobablyright. Given the historical legacy of non-governance in Bihar,Nitish is trying to restore the authority of theState step by babystep. He deserves credit not for what he has achieved, but for whathe has dared to initiate.

Small steps, big change:How Nitish Kumar re-established the writof State

Shaibal Gupta

popl polcs polc pfomnc

Governance Reinvented

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HistoricalperspectiveWhile the edi-ce of the Indi-an state wasbe-

ing built, there wascommensurate ef-fort at the provinciallevelas well. However,the state building eortswere mainly concentratedinthe southern and westernIndian provinces, which hada better trackrecord of gover-nance even before indepen-dence, like in Madras andBom-bay presidencies. Historically,good governance in India canbetraced back to two principal

features: land-tenure systemand the presence of princelystates.In the two presidenciesnames above, and indeed allover India, itwas the Rywat-wari land tenure system thatwas followed. In thissystemthe State has a direct relation-ship with the tenant,collect-ing rent directly. This result-ed in better collection ofrentand in ensuring better publicinvestment in the area. But,in theHindi heartland, other

than Punjab, state-building ef-fort was not taken up inrightearnest so they were not gov-erned as well as thesouthernprovinces in spite of followingthe Rywatwari system. Butthepresence of princely states didinuence the quality ofgover-nance in their respective prov-inces, creating pockets ofgoodgovernance even in the Hindi

heartland.This wasbecause theprinces had a fullsense ofowner-ship of their domainand hence the incentive

to govern them well. (Thecontinued hold of the scions oftheprincely states in the post-independence politics of Hindiheartlandcan be traced to thislegacy of good governance.)This legacy had itsresonanceeven on the democraticallyelected governments postIn-dependence. These elected gov-ernments had to compete with

BIHARstate o

photo imaging: ashish asthana

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10/52GovernanceNow | August 16-31, 201010

the institutional memory ofthe quality of governance oftheprincely states. Thus evenwithin the Hindi heartland,the quality ofgovernance wasdetermined by the pattern ofland settlement and thepres-

ence of successful princelystates.

Governance in Bihar:Down history laneBihar was disadvantagedonboth the above counts. It nei-ther followed the Rywat-wari systemnor did it haveany hubs of good governancein the form of princelystates.Being part of Bengal Presiden-cy, the East India Companyin-troduced the Permanent Set-

tlement land holding systemin 1793 which introduced thezamindarsas intermediar-ies between the State (the EastIndia Company in thiscase)and the tenant. The work ofzamindars involved collectionofrent from the tenant and,in turn, depositing part of itwith theCompany. The rentcharged by the Company fromthe zamindar was xedbutthis principle was not extend-ed to the relationship between

the zamindars and the ten-ants. As a result thezamindarsextracted as much from thehapless peasantry as theypos-sibly could, that led to faminesof increasing severity (asnot-ed by Arvind N Das, see BiharSociety in Perspective : RootsofRegional Imbalance in Bi-har: Stagnation or Growth ed-ited by AlakhN Sharma andShaibal Gupta).

For its part, the Companywas interested only in collect-

ing its xed tax from the za-mindars and least interestedingovernance and economic de-velopment of the area. In con-trast,the princely states in Ra-

jasthan and Jaipur organisedmassive relief operations dur-ingfamines and times of dis-tress (it is no accident that theNationalRural EmploymentGuarantee Act is the most suc-cessful inRajasthan). Perma-nent settlement had another

disastrous impact on gover-nance: not only did itgeneratelimited revenue for the State, italso discouraged regularsur-vey and settlement of landrecords (because the zamin-dars wouldthen have to pass

on more tax to the State). Thismeant public investmentwasseverely limited in Bihar.

The memorandum for the In-dian Statutory Commission ontheWorking of the Reforms inBihar and Orissa submittedto the ReformCommission in1930 took note of this fact thatthe standardexpenditure ofBihar and Orissa, worked outon the basis of actualexpendi-ture prior to 1912, came to Rs 8lakh per million of thepopula-

tion, the lowest among all theprovinces, against Rs 13 lakhinBengal, the second lowest.This is only indicative of therelativestrength of institution-al capacity of governance cre-ated in Biharin comparison toother states during the colonialperiod (quotingfrom SpecialCategory Status: A Case for Bi-har, published by CEPPFatADRI, Patna, in 2009 and en-dorsed by Nitish Kumar).

While this was the reality of

governance in Bihar, the twooft quoted reports by PaulH.Appleby, consultant in pub-lic administration at theFordFoundation, published in theearly years of independence,createda completely dierentmyth of Bihar as the best gov-erned state ofIndia. (In actu-ality, Bihar did not gure in ei-ther of Applebysreports.) Foralmost for six decades, Biharhad thus democraticallyen-dorsed non-governance, ac-

cording to Subrata K Mitra(see Bihar: The Dynamics ofStalematedClass Conict inThe Puzzle of Indias Gover-nance in Culture, ContextandComparative Theory). Thequality of governance in Biharremainedunchanged after in-dependence because the criti-cal agenda of landmanage-ment remained intractable.Over and above, the bucca-neeringaccumulation of land

remains the principal occuption of the ruling elite. In Bihaas awhole, there was neithersocial movement nor concered eorts to breakthe feudstructure. The story of crimbrigandage and primitive a

cumulation was thus embeded in the social structure the state(as brought out bGirish Mishra and Ajay KumaPandey in Sociology& Ecnomics of Casteism in India :Study of Bihar).

There are several instanes in the state where not ongovernancetook the bacseat, but institutions that eisted in Bihar weresubvertePolitics and governance rvolved around preventing

vesting of surplus land frolarge land-holders. The goernment, atno stage, thoughof ordering fresh survey ansettlement operationswhen was installed in 1946. Most the districts had surveyansettlement operations datinback to 1925 and before. Nodid thestate think of having aadministrative machinery take over the taskof the maagement of revenue aai

In the absenceo authentic landmanagement in thestate, theauthority othe state plummetedover the years. In theprocess, therewasdeluge o civil casesaround land, whichin turn became the

trigger o criminalcases. In the absenceo the states capacitytoresolve thesecontradictions, thepolitical space inBihar wasopenedeither or thecriminals or or theradical organisations.

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after the abolition of zamind-ari in the 50s. (MishraandPandey).

In the absence of authenticland management in the state,theauthority of the state plum-meted over the years. In the

process, there was a deluge ofcivil cases relating to landdis-putes, which in turn becamethe trigger of criminal cases.In theabsence of the states ca-pacity to resolve these contra-dictions,the political space inBihar was opened up eitherfor criminals orfor radical or-ganisations. The State was ab-sent, its authorityeroded.

Recent history:More misgovernace

If this was the sad plight pre-independence and the decadesafterit, the deterioration in the1970s plunged new depths dueto thefollowing factors:

1TWo orGAnS oF STATeIn the 1970s, the then -nance secretary ofBihar

suggested amalgamation of theoce of the departmentalsec-retaries with the directorate,for rationalising government

expenditure. While depart-mental secretaries were con-cernedwith policy matters(home secretary, for example)the directorate wasconcernedwith the mammoth eld oper-ations (under the DGP, forex-

ample). The autonomy of thedirectorate could be main-tained notonly through thepower of transfer and post-ing of the senior ocers,butby providing it with a budgetand authority to recruitanddiscipline non-gazetted o-cers. The communication be-tween thetwo was through aletter and not through a le(communication is byletterbetween two organs of Stateand through le within the

same organ). By amalgamat-ing the two organs, the Brit-ishpractice of earlier yearswas reversed, only in Bihar.Thus in Bihar,the eld opera-tion was practically given upand, in the process, thequal-ity of governance which wasalready poor, suered further.Eventhough amalgamationdid not take place between thehome departmentand the po-lice, the decline in the general

administration aected theambiance of law enforcingagencies aswell.

2a severe Blow to

judicial process

Again in the 1970s,

with the amendmentof the Criminal ProcedureCode (CrPC), theprosecutionarm of the State was separat-ed from its investigationwing.Even though it was not limit-ed to Bihar, the track recordofconvictions suered the mosthere because of the ambienceof pooradministration. Ear-lier, it was the onus of the po-lice to ensureprosecution andconviction. With the de-link-ing of prosecution fromthe

police and the responsibilitybeing shifted to the districtad-ministration, it improved nei-ther the quality of trial noritsspeed. In the process, the re-cord of convictions suered.In eachdistrict, although theassistant district prosecutor(ADP) and publicprosecutor(PP) functioning in the courtof the chief judicialmagistrate(CJM) and Session Court areboth whole-time judicialo-cers of the government, a large

part of the legal personnelat the district level compris-ing 40additional public pros-ecutors (APPs) working withPP are notwhole-time func-tionaries of the government.They are practicallyoutsidethe pale of regular supervi-sion of the districtadministra-tion and indierent to work.In this atmosphere ofindier-ence, not only did the convic-tion rate hit the nadir, thefearof this instrument of State

disappeared.

3EclipsE of idEology

The 1970s also witnesseda gradual eclipse of ide-

ology in politics. If Indira Gan-dhisgaribi hatao created aso-cial sanction for ideology freepolitics (because noideologycould disown the slogan), Jaip-rakash NarayansIndirahataogave birth to party-less de-mocracy (because parties of

all hues came under the JP umbrella). One of the immediafalloutsof the JP movemenwas liquidation of the socialiparty (SSP), leadingto an ersion of the competitive eoof the other political partie

to build their own party strutures. Whereas the politicpartiesin the West and Soutof India acted as a conduit btween the stateand society, iBihar, in the absence of organised political parties,a spacwas created for the entry the organised crime intothpolitical party. In the absencof a social base and eclipseideology, criminal networkgot co-opted into the partSoon theystarted holding pr

eminent positions not only ithe party, but also in thegoernment. In Bihar, there aronly a few gangsters whhave graduatedto the levof dons, the latter generaly functioning incognito.Thcriminals in Bihar not ondisplay their abrasivenesbut often takepride in committing crime publicly. Unlikthe dons who rarelycommcrime personally or are seein public, the criminals her

like to aunt their criminaty. This abrasive nature ofthcriminals in Bihar had a direimpact on the quality of govenance,particularly after thewere embedded in the administrativestructure.

4lack of resources

Among other factorcontrolling crime als

depends on the nancial rsource base of the administrtion,particularly the polic

Bihars per capita non-plaexpenditure (the cost of maitaining themammoth edce of the government) is thlowest in the country. Thfundscrunch severely impairs the the police adminitration. The non-planexpediture on police plummeteby 12 percent between 20003 to 2003-04and the planneexpenditure went down babout 36 percent,forestallin

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all possibilities of technological gradation. Such meagerallotmof funds implies one of the hiest population-police ratios inhar. This ratio will get worse if 26,000 vacancies are taken intocount. The police stations and oposts are ill-equipped in terms

both men and material and prtically unexposed to the trainneededfor dealing with crime.

What Nitish Kumarhas changedSo, when Nitish Kumar assumoce in2005, the challenge befhim was to convert this pulp stinto afunctioning state. A woiled state structure is needed enforcing therule of the law, wiout which neither social justice neconomicdevelopment is possib

Historically under-governed Bihneeded both law and order,sentially a demonstration of authority of the State. Nitish Kmarhas been trying to providnew grammar to governance. Thighlight ofthis new grammarthe rate of convictions being mdiated through thefast track trcourts. The state has seen 48,0convictions betweenJanuary 20and June 2010, compared to o10,000 in the decade of1995-20The present government has tak

several steps for improving the thority of the government.

Though Nitish Kumar has been able to reverse the amalmation ofthe secretariats and directorates, he has been ablebring in changeby initiating following small but demonstratand eective changes:(a)In the court of the peopleFirstly, Nitish Kumar is tryingbuildbridges with people by rectly hearing their grievancespresentinghimself in the co

of the people, (Janata Ke DarMe Mukhya Mantri). Variouspartments have specic days asometimes a bunch of depaments aretaken up together. Fexample, the necessity to constrboundary wallsaround kabrista(graveyards) was brought to notice in one suchinteraction. Tmatter has always been a souof discord, oftenaggravating riots. He immediately identi8,064 graveyards andsanction

Sushil Bareriya,manager, LIC

The real estate pricesin Patna have gone

up like crazy. It is anindicator of the peoplescondence in thestate.

Earlier those whowanted to invest in this

sector did so in Gurgaon

and Noida. Today theyare doing so in Patna.

Pappu Singh,assistant at a carshowroom

Earlier people werescared of buying bigluxury cars scared astheywould be targetedby kidnappers. Thatfear has gone. Thosewho come toour shopask for the top modelswithout hesitation.

Pradeep Kumar,owner of a saree shop

in Patna

The market in Patna

where my shop isremains open till late

and this is good for usin terms of business

we do.

Mukesh Kumar,owns a shop in Raja Bazar

Collection of rangdari tax(protection money), which wasso commona few years back,has stopped. All those whoclaimed to be partyworkersand asked for the tax havevanished.

S K Pandey,owner of True Value

Motors

I deal in sale andpurchase of vehicles.Its amazing the way

the business has takena turn for the better

in the last few years. Isell more vehicles in a

week these days than Iused to sell in a month

when the law and ordersituation was bad.

Bec Patna

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Though Bihar seems tobe on the upsurge, itslong journey torevival:

Poverty: 41.4%Second highest poverty rate a

ter Orissa.

Literacy: 47%The lowest in the country.

Urbanisation:10%Bihar is the least urbanised

state in India.

Roads: 8.2%2,809.33 km o road length wa

sanctioned under PMGSY in2007-08, o which only 8.2 pe

cent was completed.

Health: 1%Expenditure on health is less

than 1% o GDP.

Workforce:75%More than three-ourths o the

workorce is employed in the

arm sector. And 60% o them

are sel-employed.

NREGS:34%As o 2008-09, only about 34

percent o the BPL household

were covered under scheme.

Only 2.68 percent o the hous

holds completed 100 days o

employment in same year. On

Rs 1,155.30 crore out o allo-

cated Rs 1,825.46 crore spent

in 2007-08.

Banks: 30%Nearly one-third o all banksconcentrated in fvedistricts

Patna, East Champaran, Darb-

hanga, Madhubani and Gaya.

24 block HQs still unbanked.

Bank credit lowest in India.

Source: An unpublished study don

by the Institute of Human Develop

ment, New Delhi, for the Planning

Commission as part of the mid-ter

appraisal of the 11th plan.

b: a d

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Rs 360 crore for the construc-tion of the boundarywalls.Construction at 309 grave-yards has been completed andRs 108crore has been provid-ed for construction of wallsaround 1,922graveyards inthe next phase. In another ex-

ample, when it was pointed outthat, out of 853 ocial deathsinthe Bhagalpur riots, fami-lies of only 725 havereceivedcompensation, he immediatelyordered the payment to there-maining families.

These examples indicate aneagerness to act which wasabsentbefore. Nitish also un-dertook the Vikas Yatra (ral-ly ofdevelopment) and thenVishwas Yatra (rally of trust),which wereostensibly to over-

see the development work inthe rural areas but designedtodemonstrate the existence ofa government to all of Bihar.(b)Police in a new roleEven though the prosecu-tion and investigationfunc-tions are still separate, a strat-egy for better functioningwasworked out in a seminar onSpeedy Criminal Justice, or-ganisedjointly by the judicia-ry and the executive. The re-sult wasimmediate. The trials

related to the Arms Act startedproducing results, because inmostcases the crucial witness-es were police ocials them-selves. Lateron, its ambit wasexpanded to other cases whichneeded protractedtrial.

After consolidating the gainsof other trials, riot caseswereopened and fresh charge-sheets were prepared againstoenders whoearlier escapedpolice scrutiny. Even thoughthe prosecution wasoutside

the ambit of the police, as a re-sult of the seminar, theseniormost police ocials at the stateheadquarters, starting fromthedirector general of police(DGP) and additional directorgeneral ofpolice (ADGP), be-gan monitoring all trial cas-es through theretinue of dep-uty inspectors general (DIGs)and superintendents ofpolice(SPs).

To continue the momentum,

it was decided that AnnualCondential Reports (ACRs) ofSPs woulddepend on the con-viction rate. While the policeadministration wasstream-lined, the judicial administra-tion was also given athrust.The seminar had also iden-

tied problems aecting thequality of work of the judicia-ry.Thus, they were providedwith stenographers, genera-tors, securityetc. and the as-sured promotion scheme (ACP)for the additionalprosecutionocers (APOs) and addition-al public prosecutors(APPs)galvanised them to functionmore eectively. The entire ef-fectwas electrifying and, free-ing themselves from the slothandstagnation of earlier years,

they started functioning eec-tively. Between 2006 and 2007,thevery second calendar yearof the government, the convic-tion in theIPC cases increasedby 145 percent and in the ArmsAct by 267percent.c. Ideology and crimeWhile the rule of law isbeingestablished, a place for ideolo-gy, eclipsed since the JPmove-ment, is yet to be re-established.However, there is asystematiceort to marginalise the crimi-

nal elements within the rulingestablishment. Nitish Kumarisextremely conscious about theimage of Bihar and is makingalleorts for re-branding thestate. Even though he is head-ing acoalition, none of theMLAs who have been charge-sheeted has beenspared fromthe trial court. Criminals andpoliticians are likeSiamesetwins in Bihar, and carryingout a surgical operationtoseparate them will need more

time and dexterity.(d) Funds for policingEven though theexpenditurein police administration haddeclined earlier, itrecordeda substantial growth of 27.4percent between 2005-06and2006-07, that is to say, in thevery rst year of the govern-mentstenure. That year, 5,000ex-servicemen were recruit-ed to help thepolice adminis-tration and 11,500 more were

inducted in the second year.The defunct Bihar Police Build-ingConstruction Corporation(BPBCC) has been revived toundertakeconstruction andrepairs of several dilapidatedpolice buildings. Toincreasethe esteem of the policemen,

the uniform allowances of Rs.2,650 have been sanctioned.Severalpolice stations and po-lice subdivisions have beencreated. Regularposts of body-guards and other police per-sonnel have beensanctioned.Not only the daily allowancesof the Home Guards havebeenincreased, but 20,000 new vol-unteers are being enrolled.

Looking aheadFor those not familiar with Bi-

har, the steps taken so far mightappear to be of routinenatureand not worthy of special at-tention. Admittedly, muchmoreneeds to be done to makethe eorts reach a thresholdlevel. But seenin the context ofthe historical legacy of misgov-ernance, and evenmal-gover-nance, these are giants stridesfor Bihar and requiredconsid-erable administrative grit andpolitical courage.Instrumentsof state authority are generally

equated with oppression andsuppression, but that is possi-blytrue for states which arenot soft. Bihars is not the caseof a softState, but an absentState. Nitish Kumars attemptsare not based onindividual he-roics. He is indeed trying to in-troduce structuralchanges to-wards organised governance.Hopefully, this momentumofchange will be maintained andthe chief minister will resur-rectthe pristine authority of

the State which will be inclu-sive as well. The establishmentofthe authority of the Statemight appear as a case of mar-ginalresurgence in Bihar; butfor authentic resurgence, theentire ediceof the State hasto be built carefully.n

Gupta is member-secretary of the

Asian Development Research In-

stitute (ADRI).

[emailprotected]

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Harivansh

in the present political contextof Bihar, two contrastingre-

ports by reputed foreign news-papers are relevant. On January12,1982, Trevor Fishlock of theLondon Times wrote that Biharis Indiassewer in an articletitled as Delhi watches help-

lessly as its problem state slides into bar-barism. That was thereection of social,economic and political reality of Biharthen. In2010, the Economist (January 30)described Bihar Indias mostdepressedand unruly state but also noted thatrarely has a failedstate escaped political

bankruptcy the way Bihar did. Thesetwo articles highlight thepath Bihar hastraversed from 1982 to 2010.

In 1985, the people of Bihar chose a Con-gress regime butbetween 1985 and 1990,there were ve chief ministers. chiefmin-ister Bhagwat Jha Azad and governor Go-vind Narayan Singhfought unashamedlyon petty issues. Then Azad was also in-volved inan unsavoury spat with speakerShiv Chandra Jha. It didnt help thatallthe gentlemen involved in cantankerousfeuds belonged to the sameparty, the Con-gress. Those occupying high constitution-

al positions did not care about constitu-tional propriety anddignity.

Anarchy at the top has a tendency topermeate down very fast.Thats whathappened in Bihar. Caste-clashes, mas-sacres, decaying ofthe education system,stilted growth, large-scale migration--allcombined to lead to total collapse ofgovernance. As the statecontinued toshrink, and its authority evaporated, thevoid was lledby criminals and gang-sters patronised by politicalmasters.Government contracts were captured

by criminals who turned into CasteRobinhoods.

In 1990 Lalu Prasad became the chiefminister of Bihar. He summedup his en-tire political philosophy in one sentenceRajas word islaw (Hum toh Rajanuhain). He ran the administration as perhis whim.The rule of law was grossly

undermined. Bihar hurtled down on thepath to ku-shashan (badgovernance). Thdegeneration was highlighted when Laluonce describedoods as benecial for thpoor as they could get sh to eat fromoodwaters. He was least botheredabout issues like relief andimprovemenin governance. The result was that the authority of thestate eroded further.

In 2005 when Nitish Kumar too overthe reins, his biggestchallenge was toresurrect the state structure and restoreitsauthority and develop an institution-al framework for eectivefunctioning o

the state. From the time Fishlock wrotethat damning report in1982 right up to2005, Bihars condition was indeed piti-able.Whether or not Nitish Kumar re-turns to power, he cannot be deniedthecredit for resurrecting a state which wasclearly on the brink ofanarchy and cha-os. He brought governance back on trackin a stateconsidered to be the countrysmost ungovernable. He introducedaprofessional work culture at his ocialresidence, oce and the statesecretaria

His predecessor used to revel in hold-ing durbars and musicalrevelries. Lalu

Prasad battled against forces of feudalismbut not against feudalculture. Nitish Kumar changed that culture. He earned thereputationof a chief minister who slogsfor over 15-16 hours a day. He focusedoroads which had years ago turned intounmotorable potholes. Thereason wasobvious. Those who ruled before believein the philosophythat roads are meantonly for car-owners. They forgot the roleplayedby roads in the evolution of thedeveloped nations. Governmentcontracwere captured by gangsters and road

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Rebuilding Bihar

Barah baje tak late nahin,

3 baje ke baad bhent nahinNitish has changed Bihars work culturewhich believed that noon is not late tobegin work and 3 pm is toolate to be working!

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engineers and government employeeswere kidnapped for ransom atwill.

Thus, for Nitish Kumar, constructingroads was not an easy task.It had to bepreceded by the restoration of the au-thority of thestate from the clutches ofcriminals and their patrons. Thisobjec-

tive was achieved with better co-ordina-tion of judiciary,executive and legisla-ture. Fast-track courts were set up. Thechiefminister made a determined at-tempt to improve the functioning ofthepolice. It is indeed a measure of the res-toration ofinstitutions ofstate that about 47,000criminals were convict-ed inless than ve years.This paved the way forresurrection of thestateauthority. In the sameperiod the state con-

structed over 7,000 km ofroads, 1,500-odd yoversand more 300bridgesand culverts. The an-nual plan size which wasRs 4,466 crorein 2005-2006 grew manifold to Rs20,000 crore. An assess-ment saysthat in the last(less than) ve years, thelength of roads andnum-ber of bridges construct-ed is greater than thatconstructing inthe pre-

ceding ve decades!Bihar was considered

to the capital of the kid-napping industry. In 2005alone, thenumber of kid-nappings soared to 1,393.The last four years sawanastounding drop, just317! How eective law isin daily life ofpeople? In2009, the state, known forits brazen booth-capturing andpoll vio-lence witnessed peaceful polling withoutshedding anyblood. The eect of the awe

and authority of the state was there for allto see.

Critics of democracy describe it as a sys-tem that is tardy andlethargic and thatit does not show quick results. But NitishKumarproved the critics wrong by intro-ducing two experiments thatdemonstrat-ed the dynamism of democracy: Settingup fast trackcourts to tighten the statesstranglehold on criminals.

He came out with a legislation to attachand conscate illegallyacquired wealthof ocials. After a great deal of delay, the

law was nally approved by the Centreonly a few days back justbefore the forth-coming assembly elections so as to denypoliticalleverage to Nitish Kumar. How-ever this legislation may be aneectiveinstrument in checking corruption in thebureaucracy.

As the state power acquired muscle, ithad a direct bearing onthe states econ-omy. Markets grew and construction in-dustry got anew llip. Patna could com-pete with Mumbai in the rate at whichrealestate prices spiraled up. In keep-

ing with the rest of thecountry, telecom grewphenomenally (anin-dustry report puts thegure at 88.02 percentwith a mobile baseat2.45 crore now). All thishas checked the mi-

gration to other statesthough Bihar still hasthe biggestpopulationof poor in the country.

Politics holds the keyto regulating the socio-economic life ofBihar.The state was devoidof a social renaissance.Unlike Assam andMa-harashtra, Bihar wasbereft of a powerful so-cio-culturalmovement.Only ethical politics can

energise the decadentsocio-economic and cul-tural spaces. Thiswasamply demonstratedwhen the Bihar govern-ment introduced sever-alwelfare programmesafter restoring the au-thority of the state.Someof these pro-grammes became role

models for the country such as 50 percentreservation for womenin panchayats,conscation of ill-gotten properties of cor-

rupt ocials, recruitment of retired armyjawans, school uniformsfor girl students,opening up of engineering schools andconstructionof parks. All these eortshave shaken the foundation of thefeudalsociety. Bihar still lags far behind in thedevelopment race.Yet the states nancedepartment says that it will catch upwithMaharashtra if the state continues toclock 11.03 percent ofgrowth rate for thenext 16 years. There is a gradualtrans-formation in the feudal outlook of the ad-ministration wherethe reigning slogan in

the state secretariat and power corridortill ve year back was,12 baje tak latenahin, 3 baje ke baad bhent nahin (noonis not latefor work to begin, 3 pm is toolate to be working).

There is no doubt that Bihar has beenfacing serious challenges.The power cri

sis, large-scale corruption and the largelyunchanged Biharimindset are big impediments. If teachers remain absent, pro-fessorsavoid classes, doctors and nursesshun hospitals and patients, it isreec-tive of a certain mind-set which is the result of decades ofsedimentation. Politi-cians have a vested interest in preservinthisstatus quo.

Only good politics can uproot this sta-tus quo and regeneratethe social andcultural lives of Bihar. Nitish Kumar hastaken babysteps in this direction but thequestion that haunts everybody is:What

will happen if Lalu Prasad comes back?Ironically, Lalu himselfhas started talk-ing about building a new Bihar. Thankfully, evenLalu cannot stray from the development agenda that Nitish Kumarhaset. He will dare not because a very largsection of people havetasted the fruits odevelopment and rule of law. This socialsectionis no longer guided by caste hostities and religious chauvinism.This is thdirect eect of Nitish Kumars work. Irrespective of whichpolitical dispensation iin power, the pro-development segmentofsociety will not keep silent.

After decades the people of Biharhave been imbued with a senseof Bi-hari pride. It is dicult to say how farthis has permeated thecaste and reli-gious divides but a new beginning hasbeen made. TheCentres discriminationagainst Bihar and Raj Thackerays anti-Biharitirade have added to this feeling.There is no doubt that NitishKumar haschanged the political agenda of the stateThe issue ofdevelopment has becomethe fulcrum of public debate. He is therstchief minister to have visited historplaces like Nalanda, Rajgir,Vaishali, Gay

Chirand, Telhara and Chechak where lieburied the glorioushistorical past of In-dia. His tours to these places and planstrebuild them have brought into light thecultural signicance ofBihar. His moveto rebuild Nalanda university and onceagain put iton the academic map of theworld is an attempt at assimilatingthegrandeur of the past with a promising future that beckons Bihar.n

Harivansh is the chief editor of the

Prabhat Khabar.

Critics o democracydescribe it as asystem that is tardyandlethargic and

that it does notshow quick results.But Nitish Kumarproved thecriticswrong by introducingtwo experimentsthat demonstratedthedynamism odemocracy: He setup ast-track courts

to tighten the statesstranglehold oncriminals and he cameoutwith a law to attachand confscate illegallyacquired wealthoofcials.

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Brajesh Kumar

Purnendu Ojha, a pae-diatrician in Patnasupmarket Kankar-baghlocality, can nev-er forget September2001. Those were the

days when kidnapping for ran-som was a ourishing industryinBihar.

Doctors were the preferred tar-gets, presumably because oftheirobvious monetary value. Being

picked at the rate of almost one eery month, doctors in Patnalivein fear.

Though several of his colleaguehad been kidnapped, Ojha blieved,naively, that he was a faless attractive candidate thamany others.He was provewrong one evening when foumotorcycle-borne men waylahimas soon as he got into his caparked outside Sri Ram hospita

In terms of law and order, Bihar has risen from the ashes.Todaypeople dont prize anything as much as they do safety andsecurity

Bihars escape fromcriminality

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Being safe in Bihar

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where he worked as a senior resi-dent doctor, forced him intotheircar, and drove o. Ojha says hewas tortured for ve dayswhilethe kidnappers demanded Rs 80

lakh in ransom.The police launched a massive

hunt for the kidnappers in sever-al districts of Bihar.Fortunately,their eorts were successful thistime. Ojha wasreleased.

He returned home but could nev-er return to normal life for averylong time.

For several weeks, I was bent onleaving the blighted city forgood,recalls the mild mannered doctor.

Finally, however, the practicaldiculties of shifting basefrom

a place where he had been prac-tising for years prevailed overhisfears. Ojha couldnt move out ofPatna but virtually shieldedhim-self from the rest of the city.

His residence, where he alsoopened his private clinic, wasturnedinto a fortress with armedguards screening all visitors.

Circ*mstances remained suchfor Ojha until November 2005whenNitish Kumar ended Lalu Ya-davs long rule and thekidnappingindustry began to be dismantled.

In four and half years since, thecrime graph has fallendramatical-ly. Kidnappings for ransom camedown from 411 in 2004 to62 in2009; road robberies from 1,875to 720; dacoities from 1,297 to505and murders from 3861 to 2,438.

There are no guards, on whomhe once spent Rs 40,000 permonth, atOjhas clinic today. Hehas even been venturing out morefrequently,for ice-cream at Mau-rya Complex and an occasionalnight show at therecently reno-

vated Mona Cinema.Things have changed. It feels

good to be in Patna now, he says.Patna does seem safer now;at

Maurya Complex, Patnas favou-rite hangout, one can see crowdsofpeople at 9 pm.

Earlier, my husband would havegiven me an earful if I hadsug-gested going out to have chaat; notnow, says Ratna Tripathi, ahouse-wife and one of a group of womenvisiting Maurya Complex torelish

some spicy snacks. Rajesh Pandewho owns a consumer electronicsstore at Sri Hari Niwas Complex, adjacent to Maurya Complesays hisbusiness has beneted im

mensely from improved law anorder. He receives customers 9.30 pmat his showroom withouworrying that someone will barginto his storeto demand rangdatax (protection money).

Public condence in law and oder is also back elsewhere in Bhar.Sarju Sihna, a cab driver iArwal, some 100 km away fromPatna, sayshis town has not winessed any major crime in last feyears andpeople sleep in peace

D K Pandey, a physician posted

Peuro in Bhojpur district, says htravels to his home in Patna atanhour, which was not possible ealier. I dont rememberboardingtrain after 6 pm in the 1990s anearly 2000s. Today you willnd athe trains between Patna and other districts running full evenat 1pm.

A dozen of notorious criminalturned-politicians like MohammadSahabuddin and Anand Mhan Singh have been convictethrough speedytrials in the la

four and half years. From the timNitish Kumar government camintooce to May 2010, 49,612(acompared to 10,000 between 1992005) peoplehave been convicteOf that number, 8,751 received liimprisonment,2,345 less than 1years of imprisonment and 28,35got more than 10years jail term

People in Bihar, however, undestand that improvement in laandorder still runs several riskmost notably the return of politcalpatronage of criminals.

It would be dangerous to believthat criminals have beencrushethey are lying low waiting for more conducive atmosphere.Sits important that the present rgime returns to power for a seondterm, says a senior ociwho would not like to be named.

Whoever comes to power, peopof Bihar have come to realisethvalue of law and order. n

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For several weeksafter being releasedby my kidnappers,

I was bent on

leaving Patna forgood. Thangs havechanged since then.

It feels good to be inPatna now.

Pudu ojhaPadiaticia, Pata

(Lt) MauyaCmplx, Patasavuit hagut,tms with ppljyig thm-slvs at 9i th

ight.

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Mrigank, Vodafoneexecutive, PatnaToday Patna is as good

as any metro city. All themajor brands are here.

This was unthinkableduring the reign of

Lalu-Rabri.

Pranav Pandey, MTSexecutive, Sitamarhi

I have been inSitamarhi for lastsix months and thechanges I seehereare phenomenal. Themusclemen are gone,the roads are better.

Vikash Kumar,UNINOR executive, Nawada

Earlier, say four years bacwould not have left Patna foNawadawhere I work for tUNINOR. Though safety waan issue all across thestatecapital city was safer compto Nawada. However, in the

few years, there has been achange in the law and ordesituation.So now I am absosafe working anywhere in tstate.

Siddartha, Vodfoneexecutive, Muzaffarpur

You would notrecognise Muzaarpurif you visit the townnow. It haschanged somuch. The crime rateis down, business isbooming and youhardhave to visit Patna foranything.

Amit Sinha, Vodafoneexecutive, Patna

Look at the crowd atMaurya Lok. You would nothave seen thisearlier whenthe shops used to close at 7pm. Our parents nolongermake calls if we are not backhome by 7.30 pm.

Gautam Singh,Vodafone executive,

Patna

People our age areno longer leaving the

state. Job opportunitieshave increased

manifold. Earlier, mostof us left for Delhi orsome othergreener

pastures. Today we arehappy working in our

own home towns.

e eecPatna

Ravi Choudha

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Jyotsana Shahi

it is idd a wlcm li th past. I hav tw ss whw studyig utsid Biha.Ait was litally a ightmaish pic wh thy usd t visu hm i Mahaajgaj iSiwa

distict.I ca vy vividly call wh m

ss tld m that h wuld b aivig th Siwa ailway stati lat i thighThs w th days wh Siwa apad t b mst dagus plac thath. Gagsts uldth st ad da

light muds w th d th daywt t th ailway stati i th viBut th pblmwas that v waitim th stati was usa. S I dcid t whil my tim by takiga sat bsidth ta vds th platm. Wh ms aivd by th tai, I culd t dattak him back i th midight thugh mhm was ly a w kilmts away. was awity ight ad w ud th cubaabl as th ight passd. But wculd t daythig. It was ly i thmig aud 7 that I dcidd t takmy s back hm. olyfv yas bacthis was uti m whv my saivd lat i th ight.

But w thigs hav cmpltchagd. I am hadly bthd abth saty my ss. Myhusbawh is a dct, ams ly auth gi t attd t patit*. This a w xpic lii Siwa it was thwis a dam i this aa

Shahi is a schoolteacher at Maharajganj

in Siwan.

t m ng-m vD

r Hemant Kumar, a senior

resident doctor at the Deen

Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital in

Delhi, wanted to serve peo-

ple of his hometown, Barauni

in Bihar; but for long, it just

remained a dream as the kidnapping indus-

try was booming. Now that the law and order

situation has improved, he has realised that

dream. His story in his own words.Ever since I qualifed or MBBSand became

the only doctor in my amily, I cherished this

dream o setting up my own hospital in my

hometown, Barauni in Begusarai district.

The idea was to make available state-o-the-

art acilities to people o my town who oten

had to travel all the way to Patna, which is

some 200 km away, or medical treatment.

Unlike the state capital or other places

where there are hospitals with medical col-

leges, Barauni does not have a decent hos-

pital with even the basic acilities.

So this desire o returning to my home-

town and providing my services was alwaysstrong. But earlier Iwas wary because the en-

vironment there was not conducive. Kidnap-

ping or ransom was rampant and one used

to hear stories o doctors being kidnapped

every other day. Ater the regime changed in

November 2005, I waited or a while. Ater it

became clear that the new government was

serious about tackling the law and order sit-

uation, I decided to give shape to my long-

cherished dream.

My objective was to provide the people o

Barauni all basic acilities that a good hos-

pital does. Making money was never the

aim. I have earned enough through researchand residency inDelhis (Deen Dayal Upad-

hyaya) hospital. Once I made up my mind

about coming back, I bought some land in

my hometown and started working on the

hospital building. I convinced my wie and

some o my riends to join the venture. The

plan was to start a modular, low-cost 100-

bed multi-speciality hospital with basic-to-

advanced acilities.

What I mean by basic-to-advanced a-

cilities is basic inrastructure with some

acilities that will help patients in emergen-

cies. We are not aiming at heart transplant or

angioplasty kind o services but only thosethat are liesaving.

For example, in case o a heart attack a per-

son needs immediate care. Currently, one

primary health centre caters to Barauni and

the area around it in a 20 km radius. Even

private clinics here do not admit patients in

case o emergency. They will reer them to

Patna.

When we begin our services, we will have

acilities like ultrasound machine, x-ray,

our-bed cardiac care unit, one ventilator, an

ambulance equipped with cardiac monitor-

ing unit, transport ventilator and blood test

unit, among others.Now that the hospital is almost ready, I

am happy I have realised my dream. It eels

good to be back in my own hometown and

serve my own people.

My riends were taken aback when I told

them about my decision, but now that I am

here, they understand my sentiments. It will

also send a message to those who want to

come back.

(As told to Brajesh Kumar)

W i n

o B

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T

he elds are lushgreen with traces ofearly morning show-ers andthe mon-

soon sky laden withclick-me-now clouds. Insidethebhell-maintained air-con-ditioned Ambassador racing onthe roadincreasingly travelled,you could well imagine your-self anywherespecial in thecountry. The landscape is part-Himalayan part-coastalbut thehumid weather outside and milesof open spaces along thewayare more reminiscent of the lat-ter. Om Prakash, our driver,

guide and political philosopherfor the day speaks up, breaksthereverie and brings us right backto Bihar. Yahan tohMauritius,

China ya Japan nahin na honewaala hai na Sir. Jo log contin-uebhookhe hi rahe hon unkokhaana-e mil gaya kaun kam baathai. Aapnahin na imagine karsakte hain na Sir ki humko kitnikhushi ho rahihai. Do-teen saalpehle aaye rehte na aap toh rodete Sir, sadak meingaddha haiki gaddha mein sadak hai pata hinahin chalta (This is notgoing tosuddenly turn into Mauritius, Chi-na or Japan. But thosewho have

always known hunger are bounto be overjoyed at the prospectsomething to eat. Had you comhere just two-three years ag

you would have cried out in dspair and found it dicult to makoutwhether this was a road fuof potholes or potholes with semblance ofa road).

Cruising along National Highwa98 from Patna to Fatuah andthealong NH 30 to Bakhtiarpur and oto NH 31 and NH 30A, it isindeedicult to imagine the recent paminus these roads. As we ndouduring the course of the day, alonwith safe and smooth roadshav

Now that fear has been exorcised from the mindscape, people arefas

shifting their focus from survival to life. But the high-speedhighwaycan be deceptive indicators of the pace of all-roundprogress

20

Delverance, developm

Ashish Sharma

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arrived truckloads of expectations

for a long-suppressed people. Nowthat fear has been exorcisedfromthe mindscape, people are fastshifting their focus fromsurvivalto life, from needs to wants.

The high-speed highways can,however, be deceptive indicatorsofall-round development. Pent-up aspirations are unlikely tobefullled anywhere as soon as theyare unleashed. Not least inBiharwhere the government has onlybegun to reach the basics to ama-

jority of the population. Belchhi,

our rst stop and site of the statesrst caste-based massacre,in1977, when kurmi landlords burnt11 dalits, is a case in point.Theroad from Harnaut to Saksohrathat takes you there has beende-

clared NH 30A, Belchhi has grownfrom a panchayat to a block,com-plete with a block development of-ce and a police station.Theres a

recently-upgraded middle school,a primary health centre openeduplast year and the authoritieshave even erected a clutch of openpantoilets. Much of it, especial-ly the primary health centreandimproved access to the village hashappened over the past coupleofyears. If these signs are encourag-ing enough, though, there ismuchto remind you of the continuingrural distress as well.

Kuchho nahin hua (No progress

has taken place), insists Jamun

Manjhi, who says he is 60 butlooks much older. Ghar hi nahinhaitoh aur kaa bataayein (whenwe dont have even a place tostay, whatdo we say about otherthings)? asks Sapti Devi, raising acommonconcern among the land-less labourers in the village whichstill hasonly mud-and-brick hous-es with thatched roofs. With ex-pansion anddivision of families,people have been forced to en-croach uponpublic land along thenewly-laid highway, she says, and

points to Chani Rakhmani who isbusy digging to erect a shelterforhimself and his family.

Vijay Manjhi explains that theschool is there but teachersdontcome regularly; the primary health

centre is either closed or perpetu

ally out of stocks of medicine; thlocal politicalrepresentatives, icluding the sarpanch, dont carabout the villagersconcerns; grasabha meetings never take placcorruption has beeninstitutioalised in the centrally-sponsoreIndira Awas Yojana, whichprvides assistance for housing to thrural poor, and the rationmeanfor people below the poverty linSo, you cant get assistance ofR45,000 under the Indira Awas Yojna unless you cough up at leastR

5,000, he says. On the other hananybody who is ready to pay upcaacquire entitlement to the schemThe classication itself isarbitrarwith members of the same famiguring under the below povetyline and above poverty line caegories without separate soures ofincome. And even those whhave the BPL cards never get thfull quotaof the mandated 21 krice and 14 kg wheat at Rs 3 per kand Rs 2 perkg respectively. SomBPL families have got power con

nections but the 25 KV transformer meant for the village isservicinthe block development oce anthe police station, villagerssay.

Tunhu Yadav, 46, and SatyendrPrasad, 32, say there is notenougwork available under the Mahama Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee Act and whaever little is oered neverfetchethe mandated wages. There is littchoice but to go out of thestate tlook for work, they say.

The only person who is not com

plaining is the station house ocer, Sunil Kumar Singh, who ha52villages under his charge. Theris little crime in the area, hesayand in any case the police are freto act when need be withoutanundue pressure from the politcians. Singh says even the thancameup after the massacre, whicfamously also brought Indira Gadhi tocampaign in the village atoan elephant, perhaps the ondependablemode of transport

Much of it(development),especially the primary

health centre andimproved access to thevillage has happenedoverthe past coupleof years in Belchhi,site of Bihars

rst caste-basedmassacre.

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the time given the state of roads.Few people in the villageare

interested in recounting the hor-rors of the past. They havetheirhands much too full with the prob-

lems of the present. It is Nag Pan-chmi, a holy day, they agree,butshould the school, the primaryhealth centre, the anganwadiandthe block development oce be allshut, they ask. After all, it isnot adeclared holiday.

Paro Devi says the concessionsannounced for the mahadalits arenomore than a sham because no-body has yet got anything underthestate governments schemes.

Just look at the open toilets, saysSatyendra Prasad. Aisebathroom

mein jaaiyega aap (Will you usesuch a toilet)? he asks, andsome-body quips, Jaisa wahan bath-room rehta hai waise tohyahanroom nahin hoga gaaon mein (wedont even have rooms of thequal-ity of toilets in the cities).

The lush green of the elds too,it turns out, is not quite aslife-sustaining as it seems either. Ithasnt rained enough to allowsow-ing this year. In fact, in years ofregular rainfall, the waythrough

the elds to the school is drownein waist-deep water, they say.Yethe open spaces of the village arfar preferable to thecongestecities, you say with some feelin

They agree. So toh hai. Dilli dawa aur Bihar ki hawa barabahai(Thats true. Bihars air is atherapeutic as Delhis medicines)

Out once again on the higway, it seems it will take morthan fastroads to bridge thwide gulf between policies animplementation.

But physical bridges there araplenty, including a brand newon

just short of the chief ministers ntive village Kalyan Bigaha inNlanda district. Mukhya Mant

ka gaaon hai, koi mazaaq hai (Ater all, it is meant to connectthchief ministers village, isnt it)Om Prakash explains.Ironicallthough, the chief ministers drivto build roads has costhis nativvillage dear. Chhote Ram, his wiNeelam Devi and fatherRamji Raare living in constant fear that themud shelter can bedemolisheany time. Like many other landlelabourers they have beenliving ia mud house along the road clo

Aakhir gaaon kagaurav hai. Luteronmein phansa hai,

par kuchh karbotoh karta hai.

Doosra sab toh zeropar out ho gaya.(After all, Nitish

Kumar is the pride

of our village. Heis caught betweencorrupt ocialsbut at least heisdoing some work.The rest never didanything), saysUmeshPrasad.

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to the entrance to the village. Butthe road has to be widened,theyhave been told, so they better stayprepared. We are ready tomoveout but we are not being oered

any alternative accommodation,complains Chhote Ram.

Umesh Prasad, 60, says the vil-lage has suered due toanotherroad as well, which caused the de-molition of a dam nearHarnaut

just three kilometres away. As aresult, water scarcity hasbecomea critical issue for the communitywhich depends almostexclusivelyon farming. We have approachedour local politicalrepresentativesand even sent written requests tothe chief minister,but nobody did

anything to help us, says Prasad.Everybody, includingShatrughan

Thakur, Ram Snehi Singh, TejPratap Singh and Krishan Chand-erSingh, however, agrees thatKalyan Bigaha has still gained onaccountof being the chief minis-ters village. The high school thatiscoming up, the hospital, the in-dustrial training institute haveallcome up over the past ve years.Power is not an issue hereeither.And, like elsewhere in the state,

schoolchildren from ninth stan-dard onwards get bicyclesgiftedby the state government.

Sitaram, the barahil (retainer)who looks after the chiefministers

farming land and ancestral homesleeps in this house while hisfam-ily lives elsewhere in the village.Nitish Kumars family hadnearly20 bigha but some of the land hasbeen used up in the memorialthathe built for his father and wife. Infact, Sitaram says, thechief minis-ter comes to the village only twicea year, on May 14and November29, the death anniversaries of hiswife and father. ButSitaram goesto meet the chief minister in Pat-na sometimes. I gowhenever I

feel like it. I stay in the CM house.There is no restriction forme. Be-fore me, my father used to be thecaretaker here, he says,and addsthat wheat, rice, daal and chanaare grown on the chiefministerslands, I keep some money for my-self and hand over aboutRs 75,000a year to the chief minister.

Even as most of the villagerscomplain that the chief minis-tercould have done more to reinin corrupt administrators, they

are unanimous in their viethat they will vote for him oncagain.Aakhir gaaon ka gaurahai. Luteron mein phansa hai pakuchh karbo tohkarta hai. Doosr

sab toh zero par out ho gaya (Afteall, he is the pride of ourvillage. His caught between corrupt ociabut at least he is doingsome worThe rest never did anything), sayUmesh Prasad.

Prasad is only echoing the sentment expressed by the residenofBelchhi village. Laluji waapnahin aane chahiyein, ghoorte rheinbhains pe baithe chahe jitnbhi (Lalu Prasad should not be voedback, let him try as much as hcan from atop his bualo), som

body belonging to a dalit caste haremarked there. Interestingly,this a village where kurmis, beloning to Nitish Kumars caste,hamassacred dalits.

Even as there is widespreavocal resentment at the slow pacofprogress, then, it does seem tha demonstrable intent to govercanhope to cast aside traditionprejudices even in Bihar. n

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(Fm lt) Mudshlt acigdmliti i nitishKumas ativvillag; Sitaam

isid th CMsacstal hm;ad childi Blchhivillag psigutsid alckdagawadi ct

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Swapan Majumdar

till about ve yearsago, governmenthealth centres inBihar were adirectstairway to heav-

en. With hospital buildings, ifany, in a dilapidated stateandprimary health centres (PHCs)with no doctors or equip-ments,health service deliverywas a distant dream for Bihar

as there was no service to bedelivered. People said, Agaryamrajke paas jaana hai tosarkari swasthaya kendra jao.

Hospitals, departments andhealth centres had no account-ability.Money was coming andgoing without being used forthe purpose forwhich it wasallotted. There was absolutely

no monitoring. Health graphsin Bihar were going from badtoworse. Health systems weremerely operational on paper.

In 2005 came the UPA govern-ments agship programme,NationalRural Health Mission(NRHM). With it, came healthsocieties at thestate and dis-trict levels carrying healthservices to the people.Thesedistrict health societies identi-ed the needs of the peoplein

their areas and planned bud-get for the problemsidentied.Decentralisation of the healthdelivery system led tocommu-nity participation and, hence,demand creation.

As NRHM funds started com-ing in, building healthinfra-structure became the stategovernments rst priority.

New hospital buildings cameup which gave patients theaddedpsychological support.Hospital equipment was alsoprocured throughthe NRHMmoney.

Getting the infrastructurein place was perhaps the rststeptowards reviving thehealth sector in Bihar. Simul-taneously, thestate govern-ment started the process of ll-ing vacant posts inhospitals

and health centres on contratual basis. Doctors, paramedcal staA-level nurses, latechnicians, auxiliary nurmidwives (ANMs) andphamacists were hired and postein the PHCs and referral hosptals.Incentives like higher saaries were oered to attraand retain theseprofessional

However, the state still facesshortage of pharmacistsangynaecologists.

The PHCs in every district Bihar have the capacity to cter notmore than 30,000 peple. As the population of thstate increased, onePHC wanot enough for the populatiowhich crossed 1.5 lakh marin somedistricts. So, the Bihagovernment came up with unique concept ofaddition

Time was when government hospitals wereseen as stairway toheaven. Then came theNational Rural Health Mission and the statehasbeen making incremental improvements

heltcreheltcrerecovery

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primary health centres. Thesecentres eased the pressure othePHCs and became a linkbetween the PHCs and thepatients.

However, the state failed totap the full potential of theso-cial development organisationsin districts which play amajorrole in reaching out to the com-munity. The role of theseor-ganisations was restricted tothe public-privatepartnershipprogrammes. They were ap-proached for hospitalsmain-tenance, cleaning and cater-ing and were kept awayfromspreading social awareness tothe local communities, which

these organisations are best at.Though stressing on imple-

mentation of the well-designedprogrammes under the NRHM,Biharcould not extricate it-self from the strong hierarchyin allottingfunds to commu-nities for smooth health deliv-ery. This acted as adisincen-tive to many performing socialorganisations which wishedtowork with the additionalPHCs. Capable of taking theirown policydecisions based

on their communitys needs,they found themselves depen-dent onhigher authorities forfunds. Many organisationscame and left aftergetting dis-couraged by lengthy imple-mentation processes.

The layered health deliverysystem documented underNRHM alsotalks of forminga Patient Welfare Committee(PWC) which was alsoestab-lished by the state for moni-toring the working ofdoctors

and other hospital sta besideschecking the availabilityandquality of medicines at PHCs.

Since there is a constant ef-fort to decentralise healthcareinthe state, the role of pan-chayat representatives cannotbeneglected. These represen-tatives understand their com-munitysneeds the best. Theyplay the role of watchdogs inany system andsector. Foreciency in health delivery

and fullling the intention reaching the last person in thstate,there is a need for betteorientation of panchayat reresentatives sothat they deli

er the same message to thevillages.

Institutional childbirth, thfocus of NRHM, have gone uin Biharsince 2005. The condition at the government hopitals was so abysmalthwomen preferred deliverinat home with the help of lcal daayis(midwives). National maternity benets providcash incentives topregnanwomen to encourage them deliver at hospitals. The sta

government extended thscheme and roped in women who delivered athomThese women are also givecash benets for taking carof themselvesand the newborn and their records are alsdocumented. These womearethen encouraged to comto the hospital for thechildimmunisation.

A lot of areas of the healtsy