"Bihar needs fertilizer plants"

Hajipur MP and Union Minister for Steel and Fertilizers Ramvilas Paswan discusses how he hopes to contribute to Bihar's growth.

Hajipur MP and Union Minister for Steel, Chemicals and Fertilizers Ramvilas Paswan talks to Saif Shahin about Bihar's future development, and how he proposes to contribute.

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You have returned to the Union ministry now. What are your plans for Bihar?

Bihar is an agrarian state and urgently needs fertilizer plants. The one in Barauni has been defunct for some time now. Neighbouring states Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa also had fertilizer plants, but none of them is functioning now.

I have set up a committee under the minister of state to study the situation and suggest whether to revive the old plants or set up new ones.

How serious is the situation?

It is a very serious situation. Fertilizers are the lifeline of farmers, and these states have almost a third of the country's farming population. Their output cannot increase unless they have the right fertilizers available.

Earlier governments did not pay enough heed to their demands, but we want do our best. It may mean spending a good deal of money, but we have the future of not just lakhs of farmers but the Indian farming as a whole to keep in mind.

Isn't the country's general fertilizer policy hurting these farmers too?

It is. Fertilizers are produced in certain parts and plenty of it is imported as well. But little has been done to ensure their availability in areas that need them the most. The produce of these areas naturally drops, farmers suffer and some even commit suicide.

The selection of fertilizers for production and import has also not been carried out keeping the poor farmer's benefit in mind. For instance, CAN is a substitute for DAP and it doesn't harm the soil either. But while DAP is subsidised, CAN is not. SSP, known as the poor farmer's fertilizer, is available at almost a third of DAP's price. But it is DAP that gets imported quintal after quintal.

A third issue is the limited supply of gas. Only gas-based fertilizers are viable right now. But the gas pipeline does not touch Bihar. It runs uptil Kolkata on one side and Jagdishpur on the other. The distance between them is less than 1000 km, but the potential for agriculture if this distance is convered is immense. Yet, no government has bothered to do it.

Do you plan a steel plant as well for Bihar?

Steel plants will only be set up where raw materials like iron ore, coking coal and limestone are available. After Jharkhand's separation, Bihar does not have them any more. So I don't think we can plan a plant for Bihar.

You have been a railway minister as well. What are your thoughts on the poor rail network in Bihar?

Bihar needs a uniform gauge system first and foremost. I proposed to convert all meter gauge lines to broad gauge as railway minister. We also carried out the project in some sections, for instance between Darbhana and Narkatiaganj in north Bihar.

But the bulk of the work still remains - most conspicuously in sections like Patna-Gaya, Khagaria-Samastipur etc.