Bihar – Special status or special loot.

Bihar – Special status or special loot.
While Bihar Government is unable to utilize fund allotted to it and even more disturbing is the fact that it has totally failed in curbing ‘loot’ of these funds, it is beyond comprehension what Shri Nitish Kumar and his bandwagon mean by asking for ‘special’ status for Bihar. The only difference is that while the previous regime of Laloo Prasad just ‘looted’, the present regime has credit to it that it has done work and also ‘looted’.
After the raging controversy over the last CAG report that highlighted financial irregularities in development schemes in Bihar, the Nitish Kumar government has so far submitted vouchers pertaining to expenses worth Rs 2,056 crore, officials said. "The drawing and disbursing officers have till today furnished the vouchers of expenses worth Rs 2056 crore to the office of the Accountant General," officials told agency. While, the CAG had highlighted financial irregularities of Rs 11,412 crore in development schemes in Bihar between 2002-03 and 2007-08. Bihar Government on Monday sought a stay, and later managed one, on Patna High Court’s directive seeking a CBI probe into alleged irregularities amounting to Rs. 11,412 crores between 2002 and 2008.

Another report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has exposed the recent corruption in flood relief in Bihar that says that the officials have carried quintals of foodgrains for flood relief on two wheelers instead of trucks amounting to Rs.25 lakh scam in the state.According to the CAG report 2009, motorcycles and scooters were ostensibly used instead of trucks for ferrying food grains during August-October 2007 flood relief operation in Khagaria district. The CAG report also said, "Claims that 3,115.66 quintals of foodgrains worth Rs.25 lakh were transported appeared false and the money has been embezzled using fake truck numbers.”The report said that a scooter was shown to have carried 92.49 quintals of foodgrains and three motorcycles were together shown to have carried 274.15 quintals of foodgrains meant for flood relief.
The CAG report for the fiscal year of 2007-08, tabled in the state Assembly on July 10, has not only found misappropriation of fund but has also indicated embezzlement in many such schemes including Mid-Day meal, Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana
The CAG also revealed cases of fraudulent withdrawals in National Rural Health Mission scheme. The Janani Suraksha Yojana, meant to encourage child-births under institutional care, has also become an easy target for the corrupt bureaucracy. Under this scheme mothers giving birth in primary health centres get cash benefit of Rs. 1400 for every birth – and the CAG has detected fraudulent withdrawals amounting to Rs. 6.6 lakh in just 14 PHCs in five districts (Kishanganj, Bhagalpur, Nalanda, Gopalganj and East Champaran), with 298 women being shown to have received cash benefit for two to five child-births in just two months! It should be remembered that there are 534 PHCs in Bihar and the CAG only checked a small sample of 14 PHCs.
When availability of quality teachers is a national concern, over Rs 8.73 crore in central funding for teachers training has been lying unused for around 14 years in Bihar, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

The latest CAG report says, "Failure of the Human Resource Development Ministry in monitoring the utilisation of grants released to the Bihar government for establishing District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) and Colleges of Teachers Education resulted in retention of Rs 8.73 crore."