As he quit the post of chief minister, the only question probably bothering Babulal Marandi was whether the new government will develop his pet project of a new capital.More than two months down the line, Marandi’s grandiose plan for Greater Ranchi hasn’t moved at all. On the contrary, when a journalist sought to know his response to state Building Construction Minister Raghubar Das’s declaration that the government had ‘‘given up the plan’’, CM Arjun Munda said: ‘‘I don’t know what this Greater Ranchi is.’’In November last year, the foundation stone for the Greater Ranchi project had been laid by none other than Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani in the presence of a number of NDA leaders, including Yashwant Sinha, Rita Verma, Samata’s Nitish Kumar and Janata Dal’s Sharad Yadav.Soon after, the foundation stone was stolen. That didn’t bother ministers or allies. JD (U)’s Lalchand Mahato said: ‘‘We don’t want a Greater Ranchi, we want greater village Jharkhand project.’’Undeterred, the Marandi government floated global tenders inviting bids for appointment of consultants for the project. Then Marandi visited Malaysia and that trip was followed by one from a 23-member Malaysian delegation. The team, led by Minister of Works Samy Velu, showed video projections of the layout. As per this plan, the core capital was designed to house all the three wings of the government. The hills of Sukkurhuttu were chosen as the site by Marandi himself.The Greater Ranchi Development Authority (GRDA), with the CM as its chairman and Chief Secretary as its ex-officio secretary, was set to sign an MoU with the Construction Industry development Board of Malaysia. Later, the government put in over Rs 10 lakh for a GRDA office. Today, the GRDA office serves as the Raj Bhawan library ‘‘in response to a request by the Governor’s secretariat,’’ says an official requesting anonymity.Munda has opposed the capital project since its inception arguing ‘‘there is no need for such expenditure on buildings when Ranchi already has them.’’
