A bicycle rally was organised here on Saturday in a bid to end corruption in the state.
Carrying placards and shouting slogans, around 200 enthusiastic cyclists participated in the rally.
District Magistrate of Patna, Jitendra Kumar Sinha, who led the rally, called upon the people to fight corruption.
“We have started this cycle rally to end the corruption that takes place in government offices in the state. To create awareness against corruption, we have organised this rally. The State Government has started a movement against corruption and has even announced to reward those people who will help the government to fight corruption,” said Sinha.
Young participants said they were determined to fight corruption.
“Through this cycle rally, we want to convey the message that we have to end the corruption in the state and the world over. We want to create a new Bihar,” said Munna Kumar, a participant.
Anti-corruption rallies were flagged off in all the districts in the state.link
Saturday 28 February 2009
Over three lakh Bihar government employees to lose pay over strike
More than 3,00,000 Bihar government employees who had struck work for 33 days will not receive their salaries for this period as the state government has taken a "no work no pay" stance.
"The government is firm on not paying them salaries to ensure its policy of 'no work no pay'," an official of the state finance department said, adding that a letter to this effect had already been issued.
"Soon after the employees went on strike (last month), the government warned them to return to work or face 'no work no pay'," another official said.
The state government has, for the first time, taken a decision to deduct the salaries of its employees for the striking period as it badly affected the functioning of the offices and delayed development schemes for over a month.
The employees went on an indefinite strike Jan 7 demanding revised salaries as recommended by the Sixth Pay Commisiosn "in letter and spirit". The government refused this, citing a funds crunch. The strike ended Feb 9 following a Patna High Court order.link
"The government is firm on not paying them salaries to ensure its policy of 'no work no pay'," an official of the state finance department said, adding that a letter to this effect had already been issued.
"Soon after the employees went on strike (last month), the government warned them to return to work or face 'no work no pay'," another official said.
The state government has, for the first time, taken a decision to deduct the salaries of its employees for the striking period as it badly affected the functioning of the offices and delayed development schemes for over a month.
The employees went on an indefinite strike Jan 7 demanding revised salaries as recommended by the Sixth Pay Commisiosn "in letter and spirit". The government refused this, citing a funds crunch. The strike ended Feb 9 following a Patna High Court order.link
Stone laid for Bihar centre for disabled
Union minister for social justice and empowerment Meira Kumar and CM Nitish Kumar jointly laid the foundation stone of a Composite Rehabilitation Centre (CRC) for the physically challenged.
"It will be a boon for persons with disabilities," Nitish said while speaking at the function. He, however, urged the Centre to allocate funds so that construction work could start at the earliest.
The Union minister did not disappoint the CM. While thanking the state government for allocating land for the CRC, she said a sum of Rs 6 crore has already been allocated and the construction work would start soon.
"We have also sanctioned 19 posts for the CRC-Patna and in order to ensure that people of this state are not deprived of the services of the composite centre till the building is completed, we have decided to run the CRC from a makeshift building," she said.
Earlier speaking at the function Ashish Kumar, deputy director general (DDG) in Union ministry of social justice and empowerment, spoke at length about the purpose of opening the centre.
Bihar is the sixth state after Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, UP, Madhya Pradesh and Assam to have such a centre where people with disabilities would get composite service under one roof. The Patna centre would also have facilities to train people who would be used for imparting skill-development training to people with disabilities.
Chief commissioner for persons with disabilities, Dr Manoj Kumar, and Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) director Dr Arun Kumar also spoke at the function.
The proposed centre would come up on a 3.3-acre plot which is located on the IGIMS premises.
The stone-laying function was followed by inauguration of the CRC in the makeshift building, the Red Cross building, near the Gandhi Maidan.link
"It will be a boon for persons with disabilities," Nitish said while speaking at the function. He, however, urged the Centre to allocate funds so that construction work could start at the earliest.
The Union minister did not disappoint the CM. While thanking the state government for allocating land for the CRC, she said a sum of Rs 6 crore has already been allocated and the construction work would start soon.
"We have also sanctioned 19 posts for the CRC-Patna and in order to ensure that people of this state are not deprived of the services of the composite centre till the building is completed, we have decided to run the CRC from a makeshift building," she said.
Earlier speaking at the function Ashish Kumar, deputy director general (DDG) in Union ministry of social justice and empowerment, spoke at length about the purpose of opening the centre.
Bihar is the sixth state after Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, UP, Madhya Pradesh and Assam to have such a centre where people with disabilities would get composite service under one roof. The Patna centre would also have facilities to train people who would be used for imparting skill-development training to people with disabilities.
Chief commissioner for persons with disabilities, Dr Manoj Kumar, and Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) director Dr Arun Kumar also spoke at the function.
The proposed centre would come up on a 3.3-acre plot which is located on the IGIMS premises.
The stone-laying function was followed by inauguration of the CRC in the makeshift building, the Red Cross building, near the Gandhi Maidan.link
Five polio cases detected in Bihar
Five new cases of polio have been detected in Bihar in the first two months of this year despite immunisation drive, an official in the state health department said on Saturday.
This is three less than in Uttar Pradesh, which has had the highest incidence of the infection during 2008, a Unicef official said.
"It is sad to admit that five new polio cases surfaced in the state till the end of February," the Bihar health official, who declined to be named, said.
The figures have raised an alarm across Bihar as many parents fear that their children might also catch the disease.
The Unicef official said of the five polio cases, two are P1 and three are P3 strain cases. "The detection of two new cases of P1 is a matter of serious concern," he added.
He said eight new cases of polio have been detected in Uttar Pradesh and one in Delhi till Feb 27. Of the eight cases in Uttar Pradesh, four are of P1 and P3 each.
The battle against polio is far from over in Bihar, which recorded the second highest incidence of the disease in India last year after neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
Bihar recorded 233 new polio cases in 2008, one of the highest since the polio immunisation drive was launched in the state nearly a decade ago, an official had said.
Bihar recorded 61 polio cases in 2006 and 193 cases in 2007.link
This is three less than in Uttar Pradesh, which has had the highest incidence of the infection during 2008, a Unicef official said.
"It is sad to admit that five new polio cases surfaced in the state till the end of February," the Bihar health official, who declined to be named, said.
The figures have raised an alarm across Bihar as many parents fear that their children might also catch the disease.
The Unicef official said of the five polio cases, two are P1 and three are P3 strain cases. "The detection of two new cases of P1 is a matter of serious concern," he added.
He said eight new cases of polio have been detected in Uttar Pradesh and one in Delhi till Feb 27. Of the eight cases in Uttar Pradesh, four are of P1 and P3 each.
The battle against polio is far from over in Bihar, which recorded the second highest incidence of the disease in India last year after neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
Bihar recorded 233 new polio cases in 2008, one of the highest since the polio immunisation drive was launched in the state nearly a decade ago, an official had said.
Bihar recorded 61 polio cases in 2006 and 193 cases in 2007.link
Friday 27 February 2009
Ajay Devgan and Katrina Kaif to help out Prakash Jha
Director Prakash Jha is contesting for the Lok Sabha elections from the Bettiah seat in Bihar and helping out in his campaign will be his ‘Rajneeti’ lead actors, Ajay Devgan and Katrina Kaif. Both are popular public figures and will invite huge crowd.
A source on the project reveals, "Ajay is very close to Jha. Even though he doesn't endorse political parties or take a political stand, he will definitely do everything in his capacity to support Jha. Also Katrina, who has been drawing huge crowds to the locations where the film is being shot, will be roped in. People travel from long distances to come and see her. If she campaigns for Jha, it will definitely add to the glamour element."
Devgan feels Jha will an ideal leader for the constituency. A source adds, "Jha has done to help the flood victims in Bihar, and his Punarvaas campaign has been a huge success and Ajay has personally followed the project. So he wants to support him."
However Ajay Devgan's publicist denied the news, "The news that Ajay is campaigning for Jha in the forthcoming elections is not true."link
A source on the project reveals, "Ajay is very close to Jha. Even though he doesn't endorse political parties or take a political stand, he will definitely do everything in his capacity to support Jha. Also Katrina, who has been drawing huge crowds to the locations where the film is being shot, will be roped in. People travel from long distances to come and see her. If she campaigns for Jha, it will definitely add to the glamour element."
Devgan feels Jha will an ideal leader for the constituency. A source adds, "Jha has done to help the flood victims in Bihar, and his Punarvaas campaign has been a huge success and Ajay has personally followed the project. So he wants to support him."
However Ajay Devgan's publicist denied the news, "The news that Ajay is campaigning for Jha in the forthcoming elections is not true."link
Jan Adalat in Bihar by Naxals
Just 145 kms from Bihar's capital Patna, armed naxals from the People's War Group are regularly holding a people's court to dispense justice.
Armed naxals from the People's War Group, holding a Jan Adalat (people's court) in Banke Bazar of Gaya district. The naxals held this court to convey to the villagers about their fight against the atrocities of the police and the rich capitalists.
More shockingly, the Jan Adalat was being held in the presence of the heads of five village panchayats, who hailed the 'effort' for the naxals, raising pro-naxal slogans 'lal salam, lal salam'.
Around 2000 villagers participated in the Jan Adalad. Visibly pleased by the 'justice' dispensed by the naxals, the villagers say that the naxals are a big help to them as the state government is crushing their rights.
''The capitalist and feudal landlords have suppressed us. And now these naxals have shown us the way to progress and development." said Sukhdev Prasad, a villager from Banke Bazar.
Another villager from Warheta, Ramanuj Rai said, "We don't get our right that is why we have come here. These naxals are showing us the way to fight for our rights. The Maoist and naxals have found the way to redress our problems. The government hasn't helped us much as the Maoists. If the Maoists weren't here we wouldn't be respected by the rich and the capitalists"
The naxals, on there part, have taken their fight for justice to a new level. They are telling the villagers that that 90 % of the poor people were the victims of the police atrocities.
A naxal leader said the gathering, "More than 90% of people face police attrocities. They frame false charges against people - accusing them of being terrorists and criminals. The common man keeps fighting for their rights, while the capitalist and the rich keep suppressing us. But no matter how much we will continue our fight."
The naxals also called for a boycott of the Lok Sabha polls and even paid tribute to around 14,000 naxals who were killed in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttaranchal, Nepal and Bihar.
Ironically, the police are not even aware of this Jan Adalat that was held in broad daylight. Twenty-two out of Bihar's 38 districts are facing the naxal menace. Despite the spate of brutal Naxal attacks in recent time, no one seems to have learnt the lesson yet - neither the cops nor the authorities.link
Armed naxals from the People's War Group, holding a Jan Adalat (people's court) in Banke Bazar of Gaya district. The naxals held this court to convey to the villagers about their fight against the atrocities of the police and the rich capitalists.
More shockingly, the Jan Adalat was being held in the presence of the heads of five village panchayats, who hailed the 'effort' for the naxals, raising pro-naxal slogans 'lal salam, lal salam'.
Around 2000 villagers participated in the Jan Adalad. Visibly pleased by the 'justice' dispensed by the naxals, the villagers say that the naxals are a big help to them as the state government is crushing their rights.
''The capitalist and feudal landlords have suppressed us. And now these naxals have shown us the way to progress and development." said Sukhdev Prasad, a villager from Banke Bazar.
Another villager from Warheta, Ramanuj Rai said, "We don't get our right that is why we have come here. These naxals are showing us the way to fight for our rights. The Maoist and naxals have found the way to redress our problems. The government hasn't helped us much as the Maoists. If the Maoists weren't here we wouldn't be respected by the rich and the capitalists"
The naxals, on there part, have taken their fight for justice to a new level. They are telling the villagers that that 90 % of the poor people were the victims of the police atrocities.
A naxal leader said the gathering, "More than 90% of people face police attrocities. They frame false charges against people - accusing them of being terrorists and criminals. The common man keeps fighting for their rights, while the capitalist and the rich keep suppressing us. But no matter how much we will continue our fight."
The naxals also called for a boycott of the Lok Sabha polls and even paid tribute to around 14,000 naxals who were killed in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttaranchal, Nepal and Bihar.
Ironically, the police are not even aware of this Jan Adalat that was held in broad daylight. Twenty-two out of Bihar's 38 districts are facing the naxal menace. Despite the spate of brutal Naxal attacks in recent time, no one seems to have learnt the lesson yet - neither the cops nor the authorities.link
Bihar,s is a hi-tech budget
When Bihar deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, who has also the finance portfolio with him, tabled the state budget for the financial year 2009-10 in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, few realised that an old system of preparing budget, which was in vogue since independence, has been done away with.
The old theory of centralised control over every small and little item of expenditure leading to the creation of over 400 `unit codes’ has been replaced by a budget built on `object units’. The number of `unit codes’ has been reduced to just 62, and the 1,500 pages of budget documents were generated by computer. All this reduced the budget-preparation time from six months to just one month.
“According to the new budget-making theory, the head of an office is the finance manager of its establishment, and the budget is designed on the basis of `object heads’ which define the objective of the expenditure,” explained IAS officer and additional finance commissioner Arunish Chawla.
Chawla, who has done PhD from the prestigious London School of Economics, played a major role in the formulation of the new system of finance management in the state.
Officers and employees concerned recalled how tiresome the budget-making process used to be earlier. Expenditure provisions were complicated and calculations a time-taking exercise. For instance, for minor repairs in government buildings, provisions had to be made from 35 `unit heads’. For meeting office expenses, provisions had to be made from 20 `unit heads’. “There were different heads to purchase food for dogs and horses,” one official said, adding if one had to make an additional provision, he had to go through the tiresome process of re-appropriation.
“The number of operational sub-heads has been brought down by 25%. This, coupled with the corrections in the `unit heads’, has simplified the process at least 10 times,” Chawla said, stressing that the simplification will boost the state machinery’s ability to deliver.
No less important is the fact that the new budget system has been integrated with the computerised treasury system. “From April 1 onwards, heads of the departments can get information not only about their budget but also about the actual expenditure against their allotment 24X7 online,” Chawla said and added the process of budget allocation, allotment, passing of bills, generation of treasury voucher numbers and compilation of AG accounts will now be carried out without manual intervention.link
The old theory of centralised control over every small and little item of expenditure leading to the creation of over 400 `unit codes’ has been replaced by a budget built on `object units’. The number of `unit codes’ has been reduced to just 62, and the 1,500 pages of budget documents were generated by computer. All this reduced the budget-preparation time from six months to just one month.
“According to the new budget-making theory, the head of an office is the finance manager of its establishment, and the budget is designed on the basis of `object heads’ which define the objective of the expenditure,” explained IAS officer and additional finance commissioner Arunish Chawla.
Chawla, who has done PhD from the prestigious London School of Economics, played a major role in the formulation of the new system of finance management in the state.
Officers and employees concerned recalled how tiresome the budget-making process used to be earlier. Expenditure provisions were complicated and calculations a time-taking exercise. For instance, for minor repairs in government buildings, provisions had to be made from 35 `unit heads’. For meeting office expenses, provisions had to be made from 20 `unit heads’. “There were different heads to purchase food for dogs and horses,” one official said, adding if one had to make an additional provision, he had to go through the tiresome process of re-appropriation.
“The number of operational sub-heads has been brought down by 25%. This, coupled with the corrections in the `unit heads’, has simplified the process at least 10 times,” Chawla said, stressing that the simplification will boost the state machinery’s ability to deliver.
No less important is the fact that the new budget system has been integrated with the computerised treasury system. “From April 1 onwards, heads of the departments can get information not only about their budget but also about the actual expenditure against their allotment 24X7 online,” Chawla said and added the process of budget allocation, allotment, passing of bills, generation of treasury voucher numbers and compilation of AG accounts will now be carried out without manual intervention.link
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
