Bihar Governor says state to offer 1.2 mn jobs, 3.4 mn other opportunities before polls

Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Friday said the state government’s commitment of ‘development with justice’ reflects in its Seven Resolves (Part-2) programme for inclusive growth, zero tolerance on corruption, employment generation and priority to peaceful social order.

Khan, who took oath as Governor on January 2 this year, said the Centre was extending full support to add pace to the state’s developmental journey under chief minister Nitish Kumar.

The Governor made the statements while addressing a joint sitting of the Bihar assembly and the state legislative council on the first day of the Budget session, the last of the Nitish government before the state goes to polls later this year.

The Governor said the Seven Resolves programme was launched in 2015 to take Bihar on the path of development and Part 2 of the programme started in 2020 to provide 1 million jobs and 1 million employment opportunities to the youth in the state.

“Over 9.35 lakh have already been provided jobs. The recruitment process is on for the remaining posts and the government has now resolved to provide 1.2 million jobs to the youth of the state by the time the elections are announced. As far as employment generation is concerned, it has already reached 2.4 million against the initial estimate of 1 million and the figure would reach 3.4 million in the months leading to the polls,” Khan said.

The Governor said the ‘Laghu Udyami Yojana’ was started to provide financial assistance of ₹2 lakh to 9.4 million families from all communities who were identified as poor in the caste survey conducted in the state.

Khan said the central government had also made major announcements in this year’s budget for the state’s development. “In last year’s Union Budget also, special financial help was announced for various infrastructure projects as well as Kosi-Mechi link project for flood protection in Bihar,” he added.

He said the fourth agriculture roadmap has been launched with ₹1,62,268 crore approved for the development of the farm sector, as the previous three roadmaps had benefited farmers and contributed to growth in production of food grains and vegetables, and self-reliance in fishery.

Highlighting the Nitish government’s achievements, the Governor said there had been a turnaround in the health and education sector as well, while the government had given special focus on women empowerment through a slew of initiatives, including 50% quota in Panchayati Raj institutions and 35% in government jobs for them.