Patna, Feb 19: Bihar Cabinet Friday gave nod to implement Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s ‘Saat Nischay’ scheme in the next five years.
“As part of its ‘Sushashan’ programme, the Cabinet in a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister, gave its nod for implementation of ‘Saat Nischay’ scheme in the next five years which starts from 2016-17 to 2020-21,” Cabinet Secretariat Department’s Principal Secretary Brajesh Mehrotra said.
The ‘Saat Nischay’ (seven resolves) scheme aims at making younger generation self-reliant through education, skill development, education loan, electricity connection to all villages, providing piped water supply to every household, road and drainage in urban areas.
The Cabinet sanctioned Rs 1,897.50 crore to give power connection to every household and the process would be completed in the next two years, Mehrotra said.
It also gave nod for providing free wi-fi connectivity to all universities and colleges of the state, he said.
The proposal also includes providing piped water supply to all the households of urban areas. As per estimate, 20.13 lakh families would be provided with the facility, Mehrotra said.
All households would also be connected with ‘pucca’ drainage for which the Cabinet sanctioned Rs 140 crore for 2016-17, the Principal Secretary said, adding toilets would be constructed in all households under ‘Lohia Swachh Bihar Abhiyan’ as part of the scheme.
The Cabinet also approved proposal to open an engineering and polytechnic college in every district which would cost Rs 3,015.96 crore and Rs 841.09 crore respectively, Mehrotra said.
The Cabinet decided that Industrial Training Institutes would be opened in 54 sub-divisions of the state from 2016-17 in phases under the ‘Saat Nischay’ scheme, Mehrotra said, adding that women’s ITI would be opened up in 22 districts.
Under the scheme, the Cabinet also gave nod for setting up five new medical colleges in the state and para medical institutes in 24 districts at an estimated cost of Rs 2120 crore, he said.
It also decided to set up nursing colleges in all the medical colleges at a cost of Rs 528 crore, the Principal Secretary said.
The Cabinet also decided to give education loan up to Rs 4 lakh, which is one of the key promises of ‘Saat Nischay’, through credit cards to students who want to pursue higher education, Mehrotra said.
As per an estimate, around 35 lakh students would avail the benefit, he added.
During the 2015 Assembly election campaign, Nitish Kumar had announced a Rs 2.70 lakh crore ‘Saat Nischay’ scheme for Bihar’s development to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Rs 1.25 lakh crore special package.
The state Cabinet in January cleared the setting up of ‘Bihar Vikas Mission’ to ensure fast implementation of the scheme in the next five years.
While the Chief Minister will head the mission, ministers and principal secretaries of departments, the chief secretary and the development commissioner, among others, will be its members.
