Patna: The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Wednesday annulled 34 decisions taken during Jitan Ram Manjhi regime without any prior proposals from the concerned departments.
The decisions, all taken in the month of February by Manjhi were scrapped “orally” by Nitish cabinet and the concerned departments are, now, instructed to put up all the “rejected” proposals before the cabinet in a prescribed format.
Cabinet coordination department principal secretary B Pradhan, while briefing the media said, “The "annulled" 34 decisions were taken "orally". The departments concerned may put up all these 'rejected' proposals before the cabinet by following the prescribed norms.”
The rejected decisions included one on February 10, 18 on February 18 and 15 on February 19.
In the February 10 decision, Manjhi had set up a three-member committee to suggest formula for providing government jobs to economically backward people from the upper castes. The panel was supposed to submit its report within three months however, much before that it was scrapped by the Nitish government.
The 18 decisions taken on February 18 included increase in the allowance for homeguards, 35% reservation to women in non-gazetted government jobs, quota for OBCs and EBCs in government contracts, increasing MLAs area development fund from Rs2 crore to Rs3 crore, raising stipend to cooks of midday meal, one month additional salary to policemen, setting up of two research institutes named after Swami Sahajanand and Karpoori Thakur and increase in the annual grant to waqf board.
While the February 19 decisions had a spree of salary hike for various government personnel. Amongst the rest, Manjhi government on that day hiked the monthly stipend of 'Nyay Mitras' from Rs 2,500 to Rs 6,000, monthly stipend to the secretary of gram kutchery from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 besides making services of 'vikas mitras' and 'tola sevaks' in panchayats for a period of 25 years and setting up of 'safai mazdoor ayog'.
In addition to the scrapping of 34 decisions certain afresh decisions were also taken by the Nitish government on Wednesday which included approval of Rs 25 crore for the salary payment of 9,004 contract teachers in higher secondary schools in the current financial year, Rs 33.36 crore sanction for the salary payment of 19,254 secondary schoolteachers for the current financial year and a sum of Rs 3.57 crore sanction for the payment of salary arrears to 1,451 librarians in secondary schools.
The new cabinet also cleared creation of 135 additional posts in gazetted and non-gazetted categories in Patna high court.
The commercial-taxes department proposal was also cleared to increase the surcharge on petrol and diesel to 20% from 10%. Pradhan clarified in his briefing that the increased surcharge would be payable by the oil companies and not by the consumers.
It would generate Rs281 crore additional revenue, he added.
A sum of Rs1.71 crore was also sanctioned under the non-Plan head to the backward and extremely backward class welfare department.
Nitish cabinet also approved the free transfer of khas mahal land (plot no 24) on Patna-Gaya Road to Bihar State Judicial Service Authority for construction of its building. The cabinet cleared the release of Rs79.78 crore central share in the midday meal scheme and sanctioned Rs50 lakh for the development and refurbishment of Bihar state film development and finance corporation office.
