Bihar's Dy CM's Family Members, Aides Awarded With Bulk Of Government Contracts; Opposition Demands Resignation
Under the state's Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal Yojana, 36 projects worth 53 crores were awarded in Katihar District to people close to him
An investigative report on the allotment of projects related to a state government scheme has created an uproar in Bihar politics. The report shows that many high-profile names-current Deputy Chief Minister, MLAs of the ruling parties and their aides-and their firms have been awarded projects in the scheme.
A Family Business
The report by Santosh Singh of The Indian Express delves into the projects allotted under the state government's Har Gha Nal Ka Jal (tap water to every household) scheme. The report suggests political patronage and conflicts of interest in assigning projects to firms related to many big names in Bihar politics, the most significant being that of Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad.
The report shows that Prasad's daughter in law, Puja Kumari; his brother in law, Pradeep Kumar Bhagat; and many of his aides were awarded projects under the scheme during 2019-20 by the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) of the state. A total of 36 projects worth 53 crores were bagged either by them or their firms. It is also said that Puja Kumar, registered as an individual contractor at the PHED, didn't have any past work record in the field.
The projects were awarded in the Katihar district of Bihar, where Prasad has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) since 2005, representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). After the state assembly elections in 2020, he was elected as the leader of the BJP legislature in Bihar and one of the two Dy CMs of the state. However, the projects now in controversy were allotted before he became deputy of the state.
The Scheme
Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal is a cluster of four Bihar schemes. The common goal: easy access to clean drinking water with the larger aim of improving public health across the board. Officially launched in September 2016, Bihar’s Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal (tap water in every home) scheme has so far provided drinking water to 152.16 lakh tap connections. This is separate from the 8.44 lakh connections provided under the Central Government’s Jal Jeevan Mission and 2.32 lakh connections through the National Rural Drinking Water Programme.
Across party lines
Many other firms related to the leaders of the ruling parties-BJP and Janata Dal (United)-and the opposition party-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-were also allotted projects in at least 20 districts of Bihar, the report adds.
"Nothing Wrong With Doing Business"
Answering the allegations, Prasad said, "We have just one contract, that of my daughter-in-law. That, too, is complete now. We are in business. Should we not do it? " PHED Minister Ram Prit Paswan said to The Indian Express, "We have taken serious note of the issue of political patronage. Though friends and relatives of politicians have every right to get government contracts through due process, we will scrutinise the process of bidding and tendering if there are specific complaints."He said: "I have asked the department’s secretary to look into such complaints…that someone did not get contracts because others with political connections were favoured."
The opposition
While the state government has promised scrutiny of project allotment if a specific complaint gets received, the opposition has asked for Prasad's resignation.
"This government has been mired in allegations of corruption…. Nitish Kumar often talks of monitoring the Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal scheme. But can he take action against his deputy CM, Tarkishore Prasad? Nitish Kumar is the CM on compassionate grounds and cannot take action against (other) NDA leaders," said Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar's leader of the opposition Congress spokesperson, Randeep Surjewala raised questions over the top BJP leadership and asked, "
Isn’t this a conflict of interest? Shouldn’t Tarkishore Prasad resign immediately? Shouldn’t J P Nadda seek his resignation immediately? Shouldn’t (Prime Minister) Modiji and (Union Home Minister) Amit Shahji come forward and speak against corruption? Why is (Chief Minister) Nitish Kumar silent?"
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