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UK official lauds Bihar's reform
Patna, Nov 18: Commending the Bihar government's initiatives for ushering in reforms in different sectors, British Secretary of State Douglas Alexander today said UK was willing to provide financial assistance of Rs 1,270 crore to the state for carrying out reforms.
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"We are encouraged by the progress that the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his team have made in the recent years but we recognise that we will still have to go a long way to tackle the real challenges the state (Bihar) faces," Alexander said, while launching the Bihar Prashasnik Sudhar Mission (BPSM), with the help of UK's Department for International Development (DFID).
The DFID would provide technical expertise and finances to the tune of Rs 150 crore to facilitate the process of implementing administrative reforms in the state, he said.
Alexander said donors such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and DFID were keen to support reforms initiatives in the state in a co-ordinated manner.
"The DFID is aiming to work across three sectors in Bihar -- health and nutrition, where we will provide upto Rs 600 crore, urban development where the financial assistance would be upto Rs 500 crore," he said, adding that DFID would provide Rs 20 crore for taking up the rehabilitation work in the Kosi region that was devastated by floods.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar thanked the British government for evincing keen interest in the development of Bihar in areas like health, education, sanitation, urban development and administrative reforms.
Kumar said a "centre for good governance" would be opened up in the state with the active cooperation of the UK government. |
