That Bihar has been one of the top beneficiaries of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav’s largesse in the last four years is no secret. Now, armed with an 18-page brochure, his ministry is going all out to drive home the point that Bihar bagged railway projects worth Rs 52,323 crore during his term.

Titled “Bhartiya Rail: Ek Jaaduyi Kayakalp (Indian Railways: A Magical Turnaround)”, the brochure details the major works undertaken by Indian Railways in the state of Bihar in the last four years. What makes the document unique is the fact it is the first time the ministry has come out with a list of its achievements for a particular state.

The brochure, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, is a “confidential” document made available exclusively to RJD workers, MPs and MLAs so as to enable them to tell the masses “how much Laluji has done for the state”. Sources said that the ministry had printed around 6,000-7000 copies at a cost of around Rs 5-6 lakh.

With a picture of Lalu standing with students of Harvard and Wharton on its cover, the brochure also carries inside a picture of Lalu addressing management students at INSEAD in Singapore. Even as the first six chapters of the brochure talk about passenger amenities, concessions and reduction in fares, the remaining eight chapters detail all the major railway works undertaken in Bihar.

The chapters range from details about new production units and workshops being set up in Maraura, Madhepura, Chhapra, Dalmianagar, Sonpur, Gadhara, Samastipur and Garkha to an overall investment chart listing out investments pumped in 34 new lines (12,053 crore), five gauge conversion projects (2,572 crore), 12 doublings (703 crore), 55 road overbridges (700 crore), electrification through Barabanki, Gorakhpur, Barauni, Katihar upto Guwahati (1,186 crore) and mega bridges in Patna, Munger and Nirmali (2,600 crore). A sum of Rs 22,000 crore, to be spent on the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor, has also been added to this list since it will pass through Bihar’s Bhabua, Rohtas, Aurangabad districts.

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