Patna, Sep 4 (IANS) Newly appointed Bihar State Planning Board Vice-Chairman Devesh Kumar assumed office on Friday, with senior officials of the Planning and Development Department, BJP leaders, family members and a large number of supporters and well-wishers present on the occasion.
Devesh Kumar arrived at the Vice-Chairman’s office on the fifth floor of Soochna Bhawan, accompanied by his wife, Veera Sharma.
He was welcomed with a floral bouquet by Planning and Development Department Additional Chief Secretary N. Vijayalakshmi.
Additional Secretary Shyam Bihari Meena, Director Subhash Das Ram and other senior officials and employees of the department were also present.
Among those attending the event were BJP National Spokesperson Dr Ajay Alok, BJP OBC Morcha National General Secretary Dr Nikhil Anand, Dr Alok Abhijit, Uday Chandra, Sanjeev Kshatriya, Ranjan Kumar Gautam and Kunal Kumar.
After taking charge, Devesh Kumar held an introductory meeting with officials and employees of the department.
He later held discussions lasting nearly an hour with Additional Chief Secretary N. Vijayalakshmi and Additional Secretary Shyam Bihari Meena on the Planning Board’s past work, its current functioning and its future roadmap.
Speaking to the media, Devesh Kumar said Bihar had immense scope for work in the areas of planning, implementation and long-term development vision, making the Planning Board particularly important.
“There is immense scope for work regarding planning, implementation and future vision in Bihar. In this context, the Planning Board holds great significance. The Planning Board can establish itself as a premier think tank for the state of Bihar, much like NITI Aayog at the national level,” he said.
He added that his primary objective would be to establish the relevance and utility of the Planning Board as an important institution for Bihar’s development and a better future.
Devesh Kumar was nominated to the Bihar Legislative Council under the Governor’s quota in 2021.
He later resigned from the Council to facilitate the entry of Panchayati Raj Minister Deepak Prakash into the legislature.
At the time of his appointment as a minister, Deepak Prakash was not a member of either House of the state legislature.
As a result, he needed to secure membership of one of the Houses to continue in the ministerial position.
Following Devesh Kumar’s resignation, Deepak Prakash was nominated to the Legislative Council under the Governor’s quota against the vacant seat.
Devesh Kumar is the grandson of freedom fighter Yamuna Karyi. Before entering active politics, he worked as a journalist with several organisations.
After joining the BJP, he took on various organisational responsibilities within the party. He is currently serving as the BJP’s state in-charge for Mizoram.
–IANS
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