Bihar Cabinet to meet at village

Perhaps for the first time in its history, the Bihar cabinet would meet at a nondescript village in Begusarai district on Tuesday as part of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's attempts to address the problems of rural masses.

Principal secretary Cabinet and Coordination department, Girish Shanker told that the meeting would be held in a "tent".

The Chief Minister decided to organise the cabinet meeting at Barbighee village after he received thousands of complaints during his ongoing 'vikas yatra'.

Shanker said so far as he remembered that the state cabinet had never met in a village, adding that all ministers and concerned departmental heads would be transported to the village in a special luxurious bus to attend Tuesday's Cabinet meeting at 2 pm.

Shanker said about 25 principal secretaries would accompany the ministers in the bus.

After the Cabinet meeting, the ministers and officials would be served traditional lunch comprising rice-dal, roti, vegetables, 'papad,' salads and sweets in 'desi' (rural) form.

The ministers and bureaucrats would be served lunch in rural way as they will have to sit on the ground instead of the food being served through buffet system on decorated tables.

Three time Bihar Chief Minister and senior JD(U) leader Jagannath Mishra said though there was nothing wrong in holding the cabinet meeting at the countryside, it would cost a heavy burden on the state exchequer.

Maintaining that it would set a wrong precedent, Mishra said Kumar's decision would open floodgates for similar demands by the locals and ward councilors for holding cabinet meetings in their areas.

On two occasions in the past, the Bihar cabinet had met outside the State capital — once during the regime of Sri Krishna Sinha and again during the tenure of Kedar Pandey at Ranchi, the summer capital of undivided Bihar.

Former Bihar minister and senior RJD leader Jagdanand Singh, when contacted, said there was no no legal binding and provision that the cabinet meeting could not be held outside the state but since the capital has a proper place designated for the purpose, the meeting is generally held here.link