Patna: CM Samrat Choudhary on Friday said he would begin visiting districts after Aug 15 to review development projects and stay overnight.Addressing an NDA meeting at ‘Nek Samvad’ in Lok Sevak Awas, Samrat said the govt had set a target of beginning the construction of medical colleges and hospitals in every district under the public-private partnership model before March.Samrat said a meeting of the chief minister and the state presidents of NDA constituents would be held every three months to strengthen coordination among alliance partners. “Necessary decisions will be taken on the basis of suggestions received from the meetings of the 20-point committee and the Bihar Rajya Nagrik Parishad,” he said, adding that the formation of 20-point committees at the district level would also be considered.The CM said the state had incurred an additional financial burden of around Rs 9,000 crore because of schemes for women, 125 units of free electricity for domestic consumers and the enhanced amount under social security pension schemes. “However, the state government is bearing this burden in public interest,” he said.Referring to welfare measures, Samrat said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheme to provide free foodgrains to the poor had brought relief to crores of families. He said former chief minister Nitish Kumar had fulfilled the Prime Minister’s resolve to take electricity to every village by ensuring power connections to every household.The state govt was now working to connect every household with solar energy. In the first phase, solar panels are being installed on the rooftops of 2.5 lakh houses. Samrat urged district presidents to cooperate in the campaign.He said the process of preparing one crore new ration cards in Bihar was being started after discussions with the Centre. NDA functionaries and workers should help identify eligible families and assist them in applying for ration cards, he said.The meeting was also addressed by JD(U) national president Nitish Kumar and RLM national president Upendra Kushwaha, besides several senior NDA functionaries. It was presided over by Samrat and attended by state-level office-bearers and district presidents of all five NDA constituents.Speaking at the meeting, Nitish stressed the need for better coordination between the organisation and the govt and gave directions on the alliance’s upcoming action plan. He urged NDA workers to take the coalition’s welfare programmes to the people and fulfil the resolve of a ‘Viksit Bihar’.
