Centre ignoring Bihar's need for necessary flood packages: Nitish

Last Updated: Monday, November 30, 2009, 16:19

Tags: Centre, Bihar, Nitish

Centre ignoring Bihar`s need for necessary flood packages: Nitish

Patna: Accusing the Centre of showing apathy towards the state, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said "the UPA government was ignoring its need for necessary packages for flood and drought victims."

"The Centre is ignoring Bihar...It is now evident...See what the Centre is doing on our demand for granting special state status to the state...Where is the package for the victims of the 2008 floods and 2009 drought," Kumar told reporters.

Raising concerns over Centre's proposal to put a cap on the number of BPL families that can be supported under the targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), the chief minister asked the Union government to constitute an 'Identification Commission' to identify the actual number of BPL families in the state.

"The Centre was releasing quota of food grains and kerosene oil to only 72 lakh families through PDS while the actual number of BPL families in the state was not less than 1.5 crore," he added.

The Chief Minister also renewed his demand for an AIIMS status to the Srikrishna Medical College Hospital in Muzaffarpur. Kumar said he had already written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard and discussed the issue during a meeting with Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad recently in New Delhi.

- PTI

First Published: Monday, November 30, 2009, 16:19