BIHAR

The state cabinet sanctioned the release of Rs300 crore from the contingency fund for meeting expenditure on the payment of compensation to the next of kin of those who died due to Covid-19 up to March 31, 2022. The compensation amount, as already announced by the government, is Rs4 lakh for each death due to the Covid-19 infection.

The cabinet also approved the release of Rs1,173.93 crore from the state contingency fund for the implementation of the schemes under the PM Awas Yojana and Mahatma Gandhi Rural EMPLOYMENT Guarantee schemes (MNREGS) during the 2021-22 fiscal.

The cabinet also approved the anticipated expenditure of Rs36.41 crore to be incurred on the purchase of vehicles for the anti-riot forces. Besides, the cabinet cleared the release of Rs 456.05 crore for the acquisition of 108.98 acres of land required for the construction of Danapur-Bihta elevated corridor.

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has started explorations to find out the possibilities of gold reserve in Jaipur village in Katoria block of Banka district. The GSI exploration has started after the preliminary reports of the base Metal hinted the possibilities of ‘yellow metals’ in the .
A six-member GSI team of geologists and soil scientists from Patna, Delhi and Kolkata reached the village after nearly four months of studies of the soil in the past.

The excavated soil exhibited golden colours. Sources said the soil contents would be cross-examined at National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) as well as at the Government of India laboratories.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Monday launched an exclusive mobile App to ensure regular monitoring and tracking of all those covid-19 patients who are in Home isolation across the state.

The App has been named as HIT Covid App. Here HIT stands for home isolation tracking.

The CM further said that the App installed on the tablets assigned to Health workers/ANM spread across the state would start providing information on the health status of home isolated patients in their area.

The Bihar government will launch a survey later this month for the identification of landless families among the states poorest, a senior government official said, adding that the survey will continue till June 30.

Singh said the revenue officials, who will carry out the survey, will also seek information on the status of land given to the landless farmers earlier following complaints that some of them sold the land given to them by the government to private people.

Bihar last conducted a survey of landless households in 2014. The government gives land to landless families from 3 to 5 decimal in different categories including scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and backward classes.

A regional workshop on National Aquifer Mapping and Management (NAQUIM) Programme-Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha was organised by Central Ground water Board (CGWB).

Union minister of state for Environment, forest and Climate changeAshwini Kumar Choubeywas the chief guest of the occasion. He emphasized for implementation of the NAQUIM outcomes for better ground water management and planning.

Aquifer mapping will be very useful in sustainable use of ground water and framing long term policy related to ground water withdrawal for Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and drinking water, he said.

More than 270 participants, including scientists, officers, technical and ground Water experts from various state and central government departments participated in the event.

The objectives of the NAQUIM program is to identify and map the aquifers in India, to estimate the quantity and quality of groundwater Resources in the aquifers and to develop a national groundwater Database and information system among others.

Two stone idols believed to be about 1200 years old was found from a water body close to the ancientNalanda Universityduring desilting of a pond.

A year ago a 1,300-year-old idol of Nag Devi of the Pala period was found in the same pond. It has been put on display at the ASI museum in .
The Nalanda Mahavihara site comprises the archaeological remains of the monastic and scholastic institution dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. It includes stupas, shrines, viharas (residential and educational buildings) and important artworks in stucco, stone, and Metal.
Nalanda Mahavira is the most ancient university in the Indian subcontinent. It is engaged in the organised transmission of knowledge over an uninterrupted period of 800 years.

An unexpectedly large number of (I-T) payers have been found availing the benefits ofPradhan Mantri KisanSamman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme inBiharwhile it was launched to supplement the financial needs of landholding farmers to ensure proper crop Health and appropriate yields. The startling revelations have been made in the audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India tabled on the floor of the State Legislature.

The PM-KISAN scheme with 100 percent central government funding operated through direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode was launched in February 2019. Under the scheme, the Centre provides income support of Rs6,000 per annum to all eligible farmer families in three equal instalments of Rs2,000 every four months. However, the responsibility for identification of beneficiaries and ensuring correctness of their details lies with the state governments.

It added that in at least 10 districts, inadmissible benefits amounting to Rs23.59 crore were paid to 22,301 minor beneficiaries as the applications for benefits under the scheme didnt capture the age of beneficiary on the cutoff date, i.e. February 01, 2019. The districts include Banka, Darbhanga, Jamui, Khagaria, Madhubani, East Champaran, Purnia,Saharsa,Saranand Siwan.

The report further stated that contrary to the scheme guideline, three beneficiaries who were in government jobs/pensioners received 18 instalments. It also said benefits of this scheme were extended to some farmers even after their deaths while many beneficiaries availed the scheme benefits even though they didnt have agricultural or cultivable land.

The CAG report has also wondered over rather slow pace of grievance redressal. According to the report, during the past 31 months since the beginning of the scheme in February 2019, only 9,408 of the grievances (23%) could be resolved.

CMNitishKumar asked the officials and engineers concerned in the energy department to complete the installation of Smart Prepaid Meters (SPMs) at all the households across the state before 2025. He also ruled out giving free electricity to the consumers. The SPM installation would entail an expenditure of Rs12,657 crore, including Rs11,100 crore in the rural areas. As many as 3.5 lakh of SPMs have been installed in 19 towns till December.
The 19 towns where the SPM installation work has been going on are Bettiah,Raxaul,Motihari, Sitamarhi, Chhapra, Ara, Arwal, Rajgir, Hajipur, Patna, Masaurhi, Biharsharif, Samastipur, Dalsingsarai, Begusarai, Khagaria, Munger, Purnia and Katihar.

Nitish said just as the SPM installation work has begun on a big scale, some sections might demand free electricity. Ruling it out, he said the government has been purchasing power of Rs12,000 crore every year, but the revenue returns to the department is only Rs5,500 crore. The remaining sum is being given to power consumers as a huge relief. Anything beyond it will not be sustainable. This, I have said even at the election meetings, Nitish said, adding that the power consumption in the state has increased from 700MW in 2004-05 to 6,627MW at present.

The CM said his government has made remarkable achievements in the power sector and the Centre has also consented to let the state purchase power from its quota. He also noted that another achievement would be the entry of Bihar Development Agency (BREDA) in the production of renewable energy. He laid the foundation stone for its schemes worth Rs1,011.95 crore.