The Narendra Modi-led-BJP government ruled out the possibility of ‘special category status’ for Bihar, which has been the long-standing demand of its alliance partner Janata Dal United (JDU).
The Centre made its position clear on Monday (22nd July) during the Question Hour of the Parliament Monsoon Session.
The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was asked, “Whether the Government proposes to provide special status to Bihar State and other most backward States to promote economic growth and industrialization?”
#Bihar #BiharSpecialStatus pic.twitter.com/rFL6Ynconc
— NDTV (@ndtv) July 22, 2024
The reply to the contentious question was provided by the Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary.
He stated, “The Special Category Status for plan assistance was granted in the past by the National Development Council (NDC) to some States that were characterized by a number of features necessitating special consideration.”
Chaudhary pointed out that the special category status was provided to States that had certain disadvantages such as hilly and difficult terrain, sizeable share of tribal population, strategic location along borders, economic and infrastructural backwardness and non-viable nature of State finances.
The Special Category Status issue was first addressed in the National Development Council (NDC) meeting in 1969. During this meeting, the D R Gadgil Committee introduced a formula to allocate Central Assistance for state plans in India. Prior to this, there was no specific… pic.twitter.com/3q4zGbzF1k
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 22, 2024
The Minister of State for Finance pointed out that the Special Category Status for Bihar was previously considered in 2012 but it did not fulfill the criteria laid down by the National Development Council.
“Earlier, the request of Bihar for Special Category Status was considered by an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) which submitted its Report on 30th March, 2012. The IMG came to the finding that based on existing NDC criteria, the case for Special Category Status for Bihar is not made out,” he emphasised.
In simple words, the Centre made it clear that no special category Status would be given to JDU-ruled Bihar.
