Bihar falters in completing Japanese-backed Buddhist Circuit Project

Buddha's statue at Bodh GayaTime is not of the essence in Bihar. The Japanese government was to learn this the hard way. In 1988, when it extended a loan of Rs 220 crore to the Bihar government for developing places of pilgrimage connected with Lord Buddha, the Japanese perhaps thought work would proceed with clockwork precision. Ten years on, the Buddhist Circuit Project, as it is popularly known, is still to be completed.The 800-km circuit attracts nearly 80,000 foreign tourists every year. The project aims to link Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh to Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Nalanda and Vaishali, all of which are in Bihar. Tourists could then visit Kushinagar and Shravasti and go onwards to Lucknow.However, such is the languorous air in Chief Minister Rabri Devi's court that former finance minister P. Chidambaram's missive asking about the inordinate delay in the project went unanswered. Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, who hails from the state, has not fared any better. A frustrated Sinha says he is under pressure from the Japanese to ensure the speedy completion of the project. The delay, he says, "is extending the bad name earned by Bihar beyond our national boundaries". Such is the state of affairs that Japan's Overseas Economic Cooperation Forum (OECF), through which Rs 80 crore has been disbursed so far, has refused to give Bihar any further extensions. The project has already seen two-year extensions in 1994 and 1996. With the last deadline expiring in March this year, the OECF is now taking up the matter with the Centre.Sinha, during a recent visit to Patna, virtually asked the Bihar Government to take a few lessons from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, which also forms part of the project. The state utilised Rs 78 crore in 1996-97 and then applied for a fresh loan. The problem in Bihar, Sinha says, is not the lack of money but an absence of will to utilise it. Though the bureaucracy has been reviled for the slow pace of the project, many feel that the state Government has been unwise in taking such a hefty loan and then failing to deliver. That Bihar's repayment of debts accounts for nearly 20 per cent of its budget speaks for itself.Ten years of frustration later, the Japanese have decided not to give any more loans.The gravity of the situation seems to be lost on many officials. Bihar Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director S.K. Singh says, "We have sought time till June to complete the circuit." Considering that Bihar took 10 years to accomplish three-fourths of the job, there are not many who believe that the remaining work will be completed in two months.The secretary of the Mahabodhi Society of India, Maitipe Wimalsara, says: "There is a tremendous scope for attracting western tourists to these places owing to a renewed interest in Buddhism, but they prefer to stay away because the roads are bad and there aren't any airports." The country, he says, has failed to tap the Buddhist circuit, which can attract at least half a million tourists annually. "It's ridiculous not to have an airport at Bodh Gaya - the place where Buddha attained enlightenment and therefore the holiest of all Buddhist shrines - when even Khajuraho has one," says Wimalsara. An airport seems a far cry when funds earmarked for landscaping and for providing water and electricity are yet to be fully utilised. As there are no proper lodging facilities, pilgrims prefer to stay in the many monasteries which have cropped up. Bodh Gaya alone has 26 belonging to 14 countries. The monasteries' gain has been the Government's loss. "These monasteries serve as hotels though they do not pay any taxes to the Government," says Mahabodhi Temple Management Committee Secretary Bhante Pragyasheel.Unlike Bihar, the Uttar Pradesh Government has shown a keen interest in the plan. Tourism Minister Kalraj Mishra recently said the state would seek an additional Rs 100 crore loan independently from the OECF for upgradation of facilities at the Buddhist centres. However, the OECF is adamant that it will not countenance any fresh proposals unless Bihar gets its part of the job done. In which case, Bihar's loss may be Uttar Pradesh's too. Published By: AtMigration Published On: May 4, 1998 00:00 IST--- ENDS ---

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Bihar falters in completing Japanese-backed Buddhist Circuit Project

Bihar falters in completing a Japanese-backed project.

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