Giriraj Singh critisizes Bihar government’s claim of poor allocation of funds by Centre

Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh on Sunday said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and State Finance Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary continue to blame the central government for not giving money to Bihar after separation from the NDA. “The Narendra Modi-led central government has provided more funds to the state for pro-poor activities in the first eight years compared to the Congress-led UPA government (2004-14) did in the first eight years,” he said.

At a press conference in the state capital, Singh mentioned central schemes like PM Awas Yojana (PMAY), Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Schemes (MNREGS), Har Ghar Nal Jal Yojana under panchayati raj and PM Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), pointing out that such programs were implemented in the state with money provided by the Centre.

"While the Har Ghar Nal Jal Yojana has been marred by reported irregularities, there are several roads under PMGSY that are yet to be constructed or the construction remains incomplete," Singh said. Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council and former Panchayati Raj minister from BJP quota Samrat Chaudhary was also present.

Singh said CM Nitish Kumar's stand that the Center under PM Modi did not grant special category status to the state was wrong, as Union Minister for Surface Transport Nitin Gadkari at a function attended by the CM when the NDA government was intact in the country state, said the Center has taken up projects worth Rs 5 crore for implementation in the state.

Similarly, the claims of state finance minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary and rural development minister Shrawan Kumar that the Center is not giving funds to the state are false, Singh said, adding that the funds given to the state by the Modi government in the last eight years are several times more than what was given by the Congress led by the UPA.