No special package given to Bihar, says Nitish

The centre has not given any special package to Bihar and the annual assistance of Rs 1000 crores under the 10th plan was as per the provisions of the Bihar Reorganisation Act, he told reporters.

All that the Centre did was to continue with Rs 1000 crore assistance under the 11th plan and has given an in-principle consent to continue the same in the 12th plan, Kumar said.

The central assistance to Bihar post its bifurcation was a permanent and legal arrangement, the CM said adding that the state government has demanded assistance of Rs 20,000 crores under the 12th plan for basic infrastructure projects, but the plan panel was yet to decide on the size of assistance.

The state government has also submitted a proposal to the centre for assistance of Rs 50,000 crores for various infrastructure projects with a hope that the same will be considered, he said.

On the consistent increase in the plan size of the state, he said it was achieved not due to the central assistance but the state government's efforts to generate internal sources and said that it has been decided to double the commercial and sales tax collection in the next three years.

On Odisha Chief Minister's Naveen Patnaik's charge that the Centre has granted additional assistance to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to lure the ruling parties in these states to vote for UPA's presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee, Kumar parried the question and said that he has not seen a statement made by the former.

On Uttar Pradesh getting a package of Rs 90,000 crores from the Centre, he said the state government was not aware of the development and in case it was the decision of the central government, he said adding that we are not seeking any financial package, but demanding only special category status.