SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Dec. 22: Chief Minister Hemant Soren today held the BJP-led previous government responsible for the backwardness of Jharkhand and alleged that those who opposed the separate state movement grabbed the power in 2000 and looted it.
Soren, who was addressing his ‘Aapki Yojna Aapki Sarkar Aapke Dwar’ programme at the Baliapur airstrip, around 19 km away from the district headquarters, said that Jharkhand was rich when it became a separate state and had a surplus budget. But people in power looted the state treasury in the name of development, and Jharkhand became sick in 19 years, he added.
“Jharkhand would have died in 2019 had not the government changed. I don’t know what the previous government did in 18-19 years, as problems in villages are still intact in the state. The state has a massive pool of officers and staff, but they used them in personal service rather than solving people’s problems,” said Hemant Soren.
In the function, the chief minister inaugurated development projects worth Rs 408.39 crores and laid foundation stones for 135 projects worth Rs 122 crores. Tundi MLA of JMM Mathura Prasad Mahto and Jharia Congress MLA Purnima Neeraj Singh were also present.
The chief minister said that he has come to assess the work progress of development projects in villages, whether the benefit of the projects is reaching villagers or not.
“Though due to Covid, my government did not get much time, notwithstanding we have changed the governing system completely. Now, the government in Jharkhand will function from villages, not from Ranchi and Delhi,” he said.
He alleged that the central government is sitting on Jharkhand’s coal royalty, which has choked the state’s development pace.
Recounting the development schemes his government has launched in four years for the welfare of girls, youth, and old persons (pension scheme), he was surprised to see several youths had migrated from Jharkhand during the Covid period. “Now we have fixed 75% job for them in the state so that they do not need to go outside for the job,” he said,