'Political instability reason for state's stunted growth'

Setting aside political compulsions, Speaker Shashank Shekhar Bhokta has often criticized the JMM-led coalition for its apathy to deal with the pressing issues of the day. He is also known to have summoned bureaucrats and issued strict directives to them, as and when the need arose. While admitting the government's failure in delivering governance, he also talks of a non-cooperative bureaucracy and compulsions of coalition politics, as being equally responsible for the political instability in state.Jaideep Deogharia has more:
Has the government failed ito deliver? Would you call Jharkhand a failed state?
Successive governments in the state have not been able to deliver and live up to the expectations of the people. To call Jharkhand a failed state would be an exaggeration of sorts. It's no secret that many developmental projects of the successive governments, including the incumbent one, are pending. I would blame the bureaucracy, compulsions of coalition politics and political instability for it.
You have been summoning departmental heads from time to time. Do you feel that you have been overstepping your limits to the extent of interfering with government work?
It's true that I have been summoning secretaries of different departments and asking them to discharge their duties in earnestness form time to time. Recently, they had to be called to be reminded that the government had issued 84 assurances during the Budget Session and most of them had not been disposed till date. Many department heads skipped the meeting and sent their representatives instead. They are under the impression that they are not accountable to the government or the assembly. The matters are raised by 'honourable' members in the House and they want the government to act on them. The speaker is constitutionally the custodian of peoples' representatives. This puts the onus on the Chair to ensure that the government doesn't mislead the members by making false promises on the floor of the House just to avoid embarrassment.
Trafficking, particularly of tribal girls and children, has been a long-standing issue in the state. Do you find a lack of seriousness regarding the matter in the incumbent government?
Law and order in general is a matter of concern in the state. The ratio in which policing is required in a state like Jharkhand, where issues like left-wing extremism, hyperactivity of traffickers and criminal activities are on the rise, is not enough to meet these challenges. The state lacks manpower and resources and the government has not been able to recruit people as per requirement. An overhauling of the policing infrastructure is required to meet the challenges faced by the state at this stage.
The proposed assembly project has been stalled despite the laying of the foundation by the chief minister. Would you blame the government for its half-hearted attempts?
It's not just the assembly building project, but also big-ticket industrial projects that are yet to see the light of the day. This is primarily because of bureaucrats, who are misleading the governments and deliberately creating hurdles. Besides, some political leaders have vested interests in stalling the development of the state. Many among these leaders are tribals, who come up with flags whenever work is in progress. The governments, when not in a majority dare not invite the wrath of these leaders. Most of these ministers are too scared to look beyond the files prepared by the bureaucrats. This eventually results in the stalling of projects like the state-owned proposed assembly building.