Key Points

As part of the decision to expand the industrial areas in the state, the highest 991 acres of land will be acquired at Rs 351 crore in the Begusarai district. In comparison, 500 acres of land will be acquired for Rs 219 crore in Patna district, Cabinet Secretariat Department's Additional Chief Secretary S Siddharth said in a post-cabinet briefing here.

Infrastructure Development Authority (IDA), Patna, will carry out land acquisition for the development of all five industrial areas in the state, he said.

Similarly, 167.34 acres of land in Siwan at Rs 113 crore, 420.62 acres of land in Saharsa district for Rs 88.01 crore and 548.87 acres of land in Madhepura district for Rs 41.26 crore, Siddharth said.

It also gave nod for the acquisition of 1300 acres of land for the development of the Integrated Manufacturing Cluster (IMC) being developed under the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Project at Dobhi in Gaya Ji district, Siddharth said while making it clear that the above industrial areas will be new ones, while the IMC at Dobhi is the old & ongoing project.

In another significant decision, the cabinet approved the establishment of a Rs 35.14 crore factory in Gaya to manufacture various textile items, including polar fleece, blanket covers, bed sheets, and casements.

The factory would be set up by M/s Prabhavati Textile Mills in the industrial area at Guraru in Gaya Ji with 600 MTPA capacity to manufacture textiles, ACS said, adding that the investment would generate direct and indirect employment for 237 skilled and unskilled people of the state.

To develop and expand the airport network in the state, the cabinet also approved a proposal to carry out Obstacle Limitation Surfaces (OLS) survey for the development of six greenfield airports at Birpur (Supaul), Munger, Valmikinagar (West Champaran), Muzaffarpur, Saharsa and Bhagalpur, Siddharth said, adding that it sanctioned Rs 290.91 crore for payment to Airport Authority of India (AAI) for the purpose.

OLS survey in an airport is a crucial process to ensure the safety of aircraft operations by identifying and mapping potential hazards within a defined airspace around the airport. This survey helps in maintaining clear pathways for take off, landing, and ground movement of aircraft by defining surfaces that must be free from obstacles.

It also sanctioned Rs 137.17 crore for the acquisition of 18 acres of land for the expansion of Gaya Ji airport to install "CAT I Light" to facilitate the landing of aircraft even during bad weather like fog, smog and low visibility. With the installation of the facility, Gaya Ji airport will be included in the "all-weather airport".

People, christened as JP Senani who fought during the emergency period between March 18, 1974, and March 21, 1977, will now receive double the amount as "samman pension". Those who spent one to six months in jail during the emergency will receive Rs 15000, while those who spent more than six months will receive Rs 30,000 as a pension. Earlier, they were getting Rs 7500 and Rs 15,000 respectively.

The cabinet also sanctioned a revised estimate of Rs 82.99 crore for the construction of a cable suspension bridge to be built over the river Punpun in Patna.

Similarly, it also sanctioned a revised estimate of Rs 292.74 crore to connect the two flyovers of Mithapur and Chiraiyatand in Patna town, ACS said.

The cabinet approved amendments to rule 14 (telephone facility) of the Bihar Legislature (Salary, Allowance and pension of members) Rules 2006, which will exempt members of the state legislature from furnishing a bill of Rs 8300 per month for telephone and internet services. Members will now receive the amount without needing to furnish any bills.

It also approved the transport department's proposal, under which individuals with BS-I and BS-II vehicles, both LMV/HMV, will receive a 50 per cent discount on new vehicle registration if they present a "certificate of deposit" for scrap processed by a registered scrapper, Siddharth said.

The cabinet hiked the annual honorariums of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and BLO Supervisors. Now the BLO will get Rs 14,000 against the existing Rs 10,000, while the BLO Supervisor will get Rs 18,000 against the existing Rs 18,000, ACS said, adding that Rs 38.75 crore has been sanctioned for the purpose.

- ANI