Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday presented the Union Budget for FY 24-25 with some major announcements for states like Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. After the budget, Nitish Kumar made his first reaction by praising the monetary aid announced for the state. A day after the long-persisting demand for special the budget was turned down, the Bihar CM said, "I have continuously spoken for this (special status), I told them as well (NDA). I told them to give us either a special status or a special package...As a follow-up, they have announced aid for a lot of things...We were speaking of special status and a lot of people said that the provision for special status has been done away with much earlier. So, instead of that, aid should be given for helping Bihar. They have now started it."
Being asked whether he was satisfied with the budget, he said that it was he, who demanded either of the provisions.
Notably, Nirmala Sitharaman announced Rs 26,000 crore in monetary aid for the development of road infrastructure in Bihar.
What's in the budget for Bihar?
During her budget speech, Sitharaman said, "On the Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor, we will support the development of an industrial nod at Gaya in Bihar. It will catalyse the development of the easter region. We will also support the development of road connectivity projects- Patna -Purnea expressway, Buxar- Bhagalpur highway, Bodhgaya- Rajgir-Vaishali- Darbhanga and an additional two-lane bridge over river Ganga in Buxar for Rs 26,000 crores."
Moreover, the FM said Vishnupath temple at Gaya and Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya will be constructed akin to the Kashi Vishwanath corridor to promote tourism. Hot springs will be preserved in Rajgir and the development of Nalanda will be prioritised.
She added, "The requests of Bihar Govt for external assistance from multilateral development banks will be expedited..." The FM also said that power projects, including setting up a new 2400 MW power plant at Pirpainti in Bihar, will be taken up at a cost of Rs 21,400 crore.
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