Bihar agri sector on downslide, services up: survey

newkerala.com

Patna, Mar 6: Despite agriculture being the mainstay of Bihar's
economy, it has grown by just 3.5 to 4.5 per cent since 2000-01, while
manufacturing and industry witnessed a decline from 6.59 per cent in
2000-01 to 4.17 per cent in 2004-05, but the services sector posted a
consistently high growth rate between 6.5 and 7.5 per cent.

The share of agriculture in the state's economy has fallen from 48.8
per cent from 1993-94 to 42 per cent in 2004-05, that of manufacturing
sector remained unaltered at nine per cent and services registered a
handsome growth from 41.3 to 49 per cent, according to the economic
survey 2006-07 presented in the Bihar assembly today by Deputy Chief
Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

The survey, the first presented in the Bihar legislature, said the
total flood-prone area in the state was 73.06 per cent of its
geographical area and 17.2 per cent of the total flood-prone area in
the country.

Identifying recurrent floods as a major roadblock in agricultural
development, it suggested construction of dams in upper catchment
areas of Kosi, Gandak, Bagmati and Mahanananda rivers to fight the
menance in the long run. In the short term it suggested construction
and maintenance of embankments along the rivers.

Stating that tubewells accounted for 63 per cent of created irrigation
capacity in the state, the survey said a very high dependence on
irrigation by tubewells and operation of diesel tubewells due to lack
of power infrastructure in rural areas translated into high cost and
inefficient irrigation.

--- PTI