01-17-2007, 08:02 AM
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<b>Lalu exceeds brief, calls meet on Bihar </b>
Rajeev Ranjan Roy | New Delhi
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Political stunt, says Nitish
In an unprecedented move, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has convened a meeting of senior officials from different Ministries to take stock of various developmental projects being carried under different Central Government schemes in Bihar.
The meeting, scheduled for February 2 at Rail Bhawan, has raised eyebrows in the concerned ministries and departments.
The letter, a copy of which is with The Pioneer, has been issued from the office of none other than Sudhir Kumar, officer on special duty in the Railway Ministry.
The letter says that 'Minister of Railways has desired to hold a meeting on 2.2.2007 at 4 pm with the concerned officers of Planning Commission, Ministry of Road Transport, National Highway Authority of India and Bihar Government.'
The meeting aims at 'reviewing the progress of Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana, the construction and upgradation of national highways, and the schemes taken up under 12th Finance the deadline of January 29 for the officials concerned to submit the detailed report on the financial and physical progress of these schemes.
Terming Lalu Yadav's move as nothing but 'a political stunt' to mislead the people, State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday evening said that Yadav did not know the rules and regulations governing the functioning of the Union Ministries. "All the Ministries have their works to look after. Ministers are informed the rules and norms for the effective functioning of the Ministries at the time of taking oath itself," he said.
Kumar, who met Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia to discuss the expeditious implementation of various projects in the State, said that many politicians were not able to digest the progress being made in the State ever since the regime took the charge. "It is these people who ruined the State for 15 years and now cannot believe the development works taking place across the State," he said.
He said that 890-km roads were to be constructed by the Central agencies in the State. "The tenders have not yet been invited. We have sought the help of the Planning Commission in this regard. Hopefully, the tenders would be invited by February 26 and thereafter the works would start," Kumar said.
Kumar said that his Government would distribute ration, kerosene cards to the families living below the poverty line. "Unfortunately, the faulty parameters set by the Union Rural Development Ministry to identify such families would affect many households in the State. As per the existing norms, only around 66 lakh BPL families would be benefited from the scheme. If the parameters are changed slightly, around 90 lakh families would be benefited," he said.
He said that he has sought the intervention of Planning Commission deputy chairman Ahluwalia to look into such anomalies in the policies of the Union Rural Development Ministry. "It shows that how insensitive the Ministry (headed by senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh) is towards the poor of the State," he added.
http://o3.indiatimes.com/lalupm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
whether he makes it or not, he is already behaving as 1.
<b>Lalu exceeds brief, calls meet on Bihar </b>
Rajeev Ranjan Roy | New Delhi
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Political stunt, says Nitish
In an unprecedented move, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has convened a meeting of senior officials from different Ministries to take stock of various developmental projects being carried under different Central Government schemes in Bihar.
The meeting, scheduled for February 2 at Rail Bhawan, has raised eyebrows in the concerned ministries and departments.
The letter, a copy of which is with The Pioneer, has been issued from the office of none other than Sudhir Kumar, officer on special duty in the Railway Ministry.
The letter says that 'Minister of Railways has desired to hold a meeting on 2.2.2007 at 4 pm with the concerned officers of Planning Commission, Ministry of Road Transport, National Highway Authority of India and Bihar Government.'
The meeting aims at 'reviewing the progress of Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana, the construction and upgradation of national highways, and the schemes taken up under 12th Finance the deadline of January 29 for the officials concerned to submit the detailed report on the financial and physical progress of these schemes.
Terming Lalu Yadav's move as nothing but 'a political stunt' to mislead the people, State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday evening said that Yadav did not know the rules and regulations governing the functioning of the Union Ministries. "All the Ministries have their works to look after. Ministers are informed the rules and norms for the effective functioning of the Ministries at the time of taking oath itself," he said.
Kumar, who met Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia to discuss the expeditious implementation of various projects in the State, said that many politicians were not able to digest the progress being made in the State ever since the regime took the charge. "It is these people who ruined the State for 15 years and now cannot believe the development works taking place across the State," he said.
He said that 890-km roads were to be constructed by the Central agencies in the State. "The tenders have not yet been invited. We have sought the help of the Planning Commission in this regard. Hopefully, the tenders would be invited by February 26 and thereafter the works would start," Kumar said.
Kumar said that his Government would distribute ration, kerosene cards to the families living below the poverty line. "Unfortunately, the faulty parameters set by the Union Rural Development Ministry to identify such families would affect many households in the State. As per the existing norms, only around 66 lakh BPL families would be benefited from the scheme. If the parameters are changed slightly, around 90 lakh families would be benefited," he said.
He said that he has sought the intervention of Planning Commission deputy chairman Ahluwalia to look into such anomalies in the policies of the Union Rural Development Ministry. "It shows that how insensitive the Ministry (headed by senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh) is towards the poor of the State," he added.
http://o3.indiatimes.com/lalupm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
whether he makes it or not, he is already behaving as 1.