Three new Bihar ministers assume charge of respective departments

Patna, Nov 22 (PTI) A day after the allocation of portfolios by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, several ministers, including state BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal and JD(U)’s Ashok Chowdhary, took charge of their respective departments.

Rashtrya Lok Morcha's Deepak Prakash, who is neither an MLA nor a member of the legislative council (MLC), also assumed charge of the Panchayati Raj department.

Jaiswal commenced work as the minister of the industries department, and Chowdhary as the Rural Works department minister.

Both Jaiswal and Chowdhary are members of the legislative council in the state.

“The industries department will come out with a comprehensive roadmap for investments in the next ten days. The focus of the NDA government is to make Bihar a fully developed state in the next five years. For the youth, our focus is to create maximum job opportunities within the state," Jaiswal said after assuming charge.

The industries department will work towards checking migration in the state, he said.

Through various schemes, including the Rural Roads Strengthening and Management Programme and the Mukhyamantri Gramin Sampark, the state government will try to ensure that 'pucca' roads reach every hamlet, Chowdhary said.

"Our priority is to ensure that all ongoing projects are completed on time. The government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, launched projects worth Rs 21,406.36 crore of the Rural Works Department in July this year, paving the way for the construction of 11,346 roads and 730 small bridges in the state," he said.

All projects will be completed within the stipulated period of time, Chowdhary said.

Prakash, after taking charge of the Panchyati Raj department, said, “The state government, as part of its vision of decentralisation, is committed to endow the panchayats with such powers and authority." Such a move will enable the panchayats to "function as vibrant units of local government" and convert them into "empowered, inclusive, transparent and accountable entities", the minister said.

"Empowering villages is the concept behind the Panchayati Raj system, and we will work towards this direction only," he said Other newly inducted ministers are expected to take charge of their respective departments on Monday.

JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar was on Thursday sworn in as the Bihar chief minister for a record 10th term here at a grand ceremony.

Along with 74-year-old Kumar, 26 ministers took the oath of office: 14 from the Bharatiya Janata Party, eight from Janata Dal (United), two from Lok Jan Shakti Party (Ram Vilas), and one each from Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM). PTI PKD BDC