Thanks to the initiative taken by PM Manmohan Singh, a special task force on Bihar has been constituted in the Planning Commission on issues relating to the economy of Bihar, its finances, governance and possible development strategies.

Satish Chandra Jha, the former director and chief economist, Asian Development Bank and ex-chairman, Bihar State Finance Commission, has been made chairman of the task force. . The six members of the team are Saurav Srivastava, founder president of NASSCOM and ex-chairman of Xansa India Limited; Rajender Singh, ex-chairman NTPC; R K Sinha, former member UPSC and ex-industry secretary, Bihar; former deputy director general at ICAR P V Dehadrai; Nachiket Mor, executive director, ICICI bank, Mumbai and Tarun Das, representative of CII.

The task force will submit an interim report within three months. The final report will have to be prepared within six months, said member secretary Shah in an official notification. According to official sources, on the recommendation of the task force, the Planning Commission may appoint consultants for specific periods, in accordance with the prescribed guidelines, to carry out specific technical task such as data collection, collation and analysis.

The Planning Commission will be the nodal agency for the task force for administrative, logistic and budgeting purposes. It would submit quarterly reports to the deputy chairman and the Prime Minister for review and appropriate action. It would analyse issues relating to the state of the economy of Bihar, sources of finances locally, nationally and globally- to fund the development of Bihar.

In another development the state government is launching an ambitious plan at the cost of Rs. 500 crore to change the face of Patna as we all know it today by revealing plans to beautify the city implantation on which would begin in a couple of months, officials at the Urban Development Ministry said.

The plan includes improvement in road conditions, underground drainage system, better roads, new flyovers, plantation of more trees in many areas, beautification of existing parks and construction of new ones, and better garbage disposal facility, reports said.

Comprehensive modernization work in Patna is expected to begin in the new fiscal year and the plans have already been approved by the Planning Commission, it was learnt.While half of the developmental cost would be met by the state government, the remaining half would be financed by the Central government.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered beautification of Patna's Gandhi Maidan saying the land, besides the historical Gol Ghar, was the main icon of the city of Pataliputra and must be maintained and kept in top shape. He also directed the Chief Secretary G. S. Kang to hold meetings with Patna District Magistrate (DM) Ashish Ranjan Sinha and chalk out a plan to improve the condition of Gandhi Maidan.


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