Patna: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Sunday said that the state`s economic growth story would continue and the fruits of development would reach out to the people in less period of time than envisioned.
The state government was not only working overtime to ensure high growth rate over a long period of time, but also to ensure that the development indeed translates into prosperity of the people, he said at the valedictory function of the three-day Global Summit on Changing Bihar. Modi`s statement was an apparent rejoinder to some economists who had questioned the double digit growth rate in Bihar on the ground that the poverty rate in the state remained high and the benefits of development have not helped raise per capita income of the people.
Modi said corruption has been a major challenge to the delivery system, particularly in the backward states, but the state government has taken measures like mandatory annual declaration of assets by officers of Class I to III as well by the Chief Minister and the ministers.
The information have been uploaded on the website of the state government for perusal by the people and these public servants were required to submit update of their wealth annually, he said. The state government has enacted a `strong` Lokayukta Act and set up the Special Courts Act to deal with corrupt public servants, he said adding that other states have taken lead from Bihar to crackdown against corruption.
The ill-gotten wealth of senior officials have been confiscated and put to public use, he said.
PTI