R 101050Z FEB 09
FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2263
INFO AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 
AMEMBASSY DHAKA 
AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 
AMCONSUL MUMBAI 
AMCONSUL CHENNAI 
AMCONSUL HYDERABAD 
AMCONSUL KOLKATA

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