The revival of governance in Bihar under the leadership of chief minister Nitish Kumar has been hailed the world over. Now, the World Bank has acknowledged this in a new book titled 'Public Service Delivery in India: Understanding the Reform Process’.

“Bihar offers a model for other states which is case of incremental reform telescoped into a compressed time frame,” says a chapter on Bihar, ‘Transforming Governance in a Lagging State: The Case of Bihar’.

The changes happened in Bihar because ideas were implemented on the ground with persistence and patience by the leadership. There was also political will to implement those changes, writes Vikram Chand, author of the book and senior public sector management specialist with the WB.

How did these changes come about? Chand says Bihar, under the leadership of chief minister Nitish Kumar, addressed critical areas ranging from restoration of law and order to health, educational services and building roads. “The shift was the product of long administrative neglect and social polarisation that resulted in a virtual breakdown of the delivery of public services.”

The book notes that the elimination of political interference in the prosecution of criminals paid off. “Overall, 41,845 criminals have been convicted since January 2006 in trial courts across the state,” the book informs.

Chand also writes that Bihar government’s programme to tackle public services at the local level by introducing ‘Aapki Sarkar, Aapke Dwar’ programme has gone well especially in those areas where Naxal menace has grown multifold.

The book, similarly, cites the examples of healthcare and roads.

“The Bihar model is excellent because it went through a practical approach in tackling people’s needs like giving bicycles to the girl students,” said V Narayanasamy, minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pensions at the launch of the book in New Delhi.

The book, however, cautions that the Nitish Kumar government faces several challenges. Bihar has to tackle its fiscal health which is very low in terms of tax-GDP ratio. It is just 2.39 percent compared to 6.86 percent in Tamil Nadu. “Staffing gaps remains a serious problem in healthcare, roads, police and judiciary,” the book adds.

As Nitish Kumar himself said, in August, 2010, at the Governance Now conference on ‘Branded Bihar to Brand Bihar’, the book also points out that  people have tested the fruits of development and going back from this stage will be difficult for any government.

Besides Bihar, the book discusses governance and public delivery systems in Gujarat and West Bengal.