Will Bihar get special state status?
The question of what Bihar will get this time from Nirmala Sitharaman’s union budget is being debated. The most important question is about the special state status. The issue of special status has dominated Bihar politics for the last 18 years. It is discussed in the Union Budget every time, but this time there are three main reasons why it is being said that Bihar can get the special state status in the 2024 budget.
Why is Bihar asking for this status? What is the benefit of it?
There has been a demand for granting special state status to Bihar for a long time. This demand has affected at least 3 elections. There are 4 main motives behind the demand for special status:
, In Bihar, 96 land holdings belong to small and marginal farmers. Most of the land remains submerged by floods. According to the state government, 15 of the 38 districts experience flooding every year.
, After the separation of Jharkhand in 2000, natural resources and industry disappeared from Bihar. This status is very important for new investments. Due to the lack of industry, the employment situation in Bihar is very bad.
, In the last two decades, construction, transport, communications, hotels, restaurants and real estate sectors have definitely developed in Bihar, but this has not generated much employment. Due to this, migration from Bihar has increased significantly.
, One-third of Bihar’s families are still on the poverty line. They do not have a good house or basic amenities. This base fits into the framework of per capita income, which is why there has long been a demand to grant special state status to Bihar.
If a state gets special state status, it gets 90% of the amount given by the Central Government as grant and 10% of the amount as interest-free loan. Apart from this, the state getting special state status also gets concessions in excise, customs, corporate duty, income tax, etc.
In addition, special states receive 30% of the expenditures provided for in the Union budget.
Why Bihar has hope this time, 3 reasons
1. Elections to the Assembly will be held after 14 months.
Assembly elections are proposed in Bihar next year i.e. 2025. Now only 14 months are left for the election bugle to be sounded. If the Centre grants this status to Bihar now, only then its effect will be visible on the ground till the elections. The special status offers tax exemptions and other benefits, the benefits of which are availed only during the financial year.
Currently, the BJP and the JDU are in power in Bihar, which also has power at the Centre. In such a situation, it is said that if the special status and its effects are not visible on the ground in the 2025 elections, both parties may suffer losses. In the 2020 elections, the alliance of both parties won in a very close contest.
2. The central role of Nitish’s party is important
Ever since Nitish Kumar became the Chief Minister in 2005, he has been demanding that Bihar be given special state status. In 2010, Nitish Kumar launched a huge campaign in this regard. Regarding this demand, JDU had collected signatures of thousands of people of Bihar and sent them to the Centre, but the Centre did not accept Nitish’s demands at that time.
Now the scenario has changed and Nitish Kumar’s party is playing a major role at the centre. The BJP government at the centre is functioning with the support of Nitish Kumar. Nitish has not even made any negotiations on power so far. In such a situation, it is being speculated that the entire focus of Nitish’s party is on the special state status.
JDU also passed a resolution on this demand at the recent national executive meeting.
3. The situation did not improve even with the special package
Before the 2015 assembly elections, the central government had given a special package of Rs 1.25 lakh crore to Bihar, but even after this the situation in Bihar did not improve. According to the recent Economic Survey report, one-third of the families in Bihar are below the poverty line.
According to the same report, there are 94 lakh families in the state whose monthly income is less than six thousand rupees. Not only this, there are only 1.57 per cent people in government jobs in Bihar. The unemployment rate in the state is over 6.9 per cent.
What is this status and how to achieve it?
Special status is a financially-granted status. It was started in India on the recommendation of the economist Gadgil Committee. So far 11 states in the country have the special status. These include Telangana, Uttarakhand, Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir and seven states in North-East India.
The Gadgil Committee report recommended that special status be granted only to those states which are found to be in danger according to these parameters.
1. The terrain must be mountainous or inaccessible.
2.be a tribal or sparsely populated area
3. be a state surrounded by international borders
4. Per capita income and state revenues should be low.
Since 2014, the Centre has stopped granting special status. The Centre says that the 14th Finance Commission has recommended a special package instead of special state status, so now the states will not get special state status.
However, there is also a political dilemma in granting special status to the Finance Commission. Currently, there are at least five such states in the country (Andhra, Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan and Goa) where demand is growing sharply. There is currently an NDA government in all five states.
