BIHAR CHIEF MINISTER KUMAR: KOSI RELIEF, STATE DEVELOPMENT

UNCLAS KOLKATA 000035


DEPT FOR OES/PCI, SCA/INS, SCA/RA
USAID FOR ANE/SAA, OFDA
BANGKOK FOR USAID (PASCH)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV EAID IN NP
SUBJECT: BIHAR CHIEF MINISTER KUMAR: KOSI RELIEF, STATE DEVELOPMENT
AND GOOD GOVERNANCE

REF: A. A) 08 NEW DELHI 2324

B. B) 08 KATHMANDU 1251

C. C) 08 KATHMANDU 1054


1. (SBU) Summary: According to a wide range of contacts, Bihar's
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is effectively mobilizing the state
government machinery to respond to the August 2008 flooding of
the river Kosi and improve development in the state. Since
forming a government in November 2005, Kumar has focused on
restoring public health and education facilities and developing
infrastructure in an effort to catch up with India's human
development indicators by 2012-13. Post's recent interactions
in the state capital of Patna confirm the population's high
regard of an effective, determined and clean Nitish Kumar
administration, especially as it contrasts to the corrupt and
non-performance of the previous state government led by Lalu
Prasad Yadav, current Union Railways Minister. It will be
interesting to see if voters reward him for his good governance
in the national election this year and the state elections in

2010. ConGen and EconFSN visited Patna in the East Indian state
of Bihar from December 19-20 and met with government officials,
academics, civil society representatives, the business
community, political and minority leaders. End Summary.

Bihar's Response to the Kosi Flood


2. (U) In August 2008, the river Kosi unexpectedly breached its
embankments and diverted course flooding 90,000 acres of
agricultural land in the five districts of Madhepura, Saharsa,
Supaul, Araria and Purnia (Ref A). The state and national
governments were unprepared for this catastrophic flooding.
Approximately 3.3 million people in 1,000 villages were affected
and one million people were rescued. In August 2008, the USG,
through OFDA, made an immediate contribution of USD 100,000 to
the Indian Prime Minister's National Relief Fund and Catholic
Relief Services to support rescue efforts and the procurement
and delivery of emergency relief supplies. In September, the
USG contributed an additional USD 2.5 million through USAID to
compliment the relief operations of the Bihar government. The
state government expects that it will be at least another year
before it has cleared the silt from all of the agricultural
lands and farmers are able to cultivate once again.


3. (SBU) As the flood waters subsided and people were able to
return to their damaged homes, the state government shifted its
focus from relief to rehabilitation and reconstruction. Bihar
Chief Secretary R.J.M. Pillai, the state's top civil servant,
told ConGen that approximately 10,000 people remain in temporary
camps, down from the maximum of half a million. He confirmed
the state government's decision to rebuild 100,000 of the
340,000 houses damaged. It has announced a rehabilitation and
reconstruction policy to build houses, provide community
facilities and restore infrastructure and livelihood. The state
government has also distributed free seed to the flood victims,
most of whom are small farmers. However, according to Pillai,
the central government has funded only USD 200 million of the
state's USD 2.8 billion request.


4. (SBU) Bihar Chief Minister Kumar told ConGen that he
personally led relief and rehabilitation efforts in the state
and has discussed flood control and river management issues with
Nepal's Prime Minister Prachanda (Reftel B). According to
Kumar, the two countries were working to repair the breach in
Kosi's (Nepalese refer to it as the Koshi) embankment by March
31 when the river begins to rise as the winter snows melt in the
Himalayas. On February 6, Bihar's Additional Commissioner for
Disaster Management told post that Indian and Nepalese engineers
had successfully plugged the Kosi breach on January 27 and
returned the river to its original course. Workers are
currently reinforcing the levee to prevent another breach.

Focus on Energy


5. (SBU) India and Nepal have expressed renewed interest in
harnessing the hydroelectric potential of the Kosi river and
better managing the river for flood control and irrigation
purposes (Reftel C). Kumar told ConGen that he is especially
attuned to energy as a developmental constraint because the
state lost most of its power plants and coal reserves with the
creation of the new Indian state of Jharkhand in 2000. The
state government has planned, identified partners and funding
mechanisms for 14 new power projects to produce 14,000 MW of
electricity by 2013-14. He welcomed private sector investment
in the sector. (Note: the GoI allows 100 percent Foreign Direct
Investment in the energy sector, with the exception of nuclear
power. End note).

Relief Response - an Indicator of Improved Governance


6. (SBU) Most non-governmental interlocutors - NGOs, business
groups, prominent citizens - spoke highly of the state
government's response to the Kosi flood, while acknowledging
resource constraints. They perceived a strong political
commitment that relief supplies reach flood victims. The
commitment, abetted by decentralized decision making, resulted
in the quick and efficient deployment of relief supplies. NGOs
unanimously praised the state government's corruption-free
relief efforts, a remarkable change from the previous
corruption-tainted government in Bihar. Officials from the NGO
CARE went so far as to say that this was the "best response" to
a disaster they had seen in the region. While most have
complemented the government on their relief efforts, a recent
article in a leading news weekly questioned the effectiveness of
the state government's relief and rehabilitation measures. The
leader of the state opposition told ConGen that his party would
campaign on relief mismanagement in the upcoming parliamentary
elections; however, the Bihar Chief Secretary, a nonpartisan
civil servant, privately opined that the issue would not
resonate with the populace for this year's national elections
and the 2010 state assembly elections.

Priority on Development


7. (U) Kumar's strong political commitment to deliver on
development and demonstrate good governance is visible in the
state government's creation of 15,000 new primary schools and
200,000 new teacher appointments since 2005. 1.5 million more
children now attend school in Bihar. State health indicators
are encouraging: visits to primary health centers have increased
and Bihar's polio immunization rate is above the national
average. The Chief Minister told ConGen that he would like
Bihar to match the Indian national human development indicators
(life expectancy at birth, adult literacy rate, school
enrollment ratio) by 2012-2013.

Comment


8. (SBU) Kumar has made progress in re-branding Bihar as an
efficiently administered state free of corruption.
Interlocutors view his words and actions as proof positive of a
change and break with Bihar's previous notoriety for thuggish
corruption. He seized upon the Kosi floods as the "moment of
the executive" and solicits assistance and impresses upon the
national political leadership, bureaucrats and foreign donors to
deliver for his people. India's prominent television channel
CNN-IBN has acknowledged Kumar's initiatives and named him as
the 2008 Politician of the Year. The present state
administration, with its priority on flood reconstruction,
development and power generation, could be an efficient and
effective partner for future USG assistance and US private
investment. Nitesh Kumar has slowly, but steadily, begun to
turn the state around. It will be interesting to see if the
state's voters break away from their traditional caste-clan
focus and reward him for the culture of good governance that he
has begun to foster.


PAYNE