Bihar Cabinet approves five new industrial areas

With a view to expand the industrial area network to boost investment and create employment opportunities, the Bihar Cabinet -- chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar -- on Wednesday gave its nod to acquire 2,627 acres of land at a cost of ₹812 crore.

A parcel of 991 acres will be acquired at a cost of ₹351 crore in Begusarai district while 500 acres will be acquired at a cost of ₹219 crore in Patna district, S. Siddharth, the Cabinet Secretariat’s Additional Chief Secretary, said in a briefing.

The Infrastructure Development Authority, Patna will carry out land acquisition for the development of all the five industrial areas in the State, he said.

Mr. Siddharth said that 167.34 acres in Siwan at a cost of ₹113 crore, 420.62 acres in Saharsa district at a cost of ₹88.01 crore and 548.87 acres in Madhepura district at a cost of ₹41.26 crore would be acquired by the government.

The Cabinet also approved the acquisition of 1,300 acres for the development of an Integrated Manufacturing Cluster under the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Project at Dobhi in Gaya district, Mr. Siddharth said, while making it clear that the above industrial areas will be new ones while the IMC at Dobhi is an ongoing project.

In another important decision, the Cabinet gave its approval for setting up a factory at ₹35.14 crore to manufacture textile items such as fleece, blanket covers, bed sheets and casements in Gaya.

“The factory would be set up by M/s Prabhavati Textile Mills in an industrial area at Guraru in Gaya to manufacture textiles. The investment would generate direct and indirect employment for 237 skilled and unskilled people of the State,” Mr. Siddharth said.

In order to develop and expand the airport network, the Cabinet 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, Mr. Siddharth said, adding that it sanctioned ₹290.91 crore for payment to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the purpose. The OLS survey is a crucial process to ensure the safety of aircraft operations by identifying and mapping potential hazards within a defined airspace around an 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.

The Cabinet also sanctioned ₹137.17 crore for acquisition of 18 acres for expansion of Gaya airport to install “CAT I Light” to facilitate the landing of aircraft even during bad weather conditions such as fog, smog and low visibility. With the installation of the facility, the airport will be considered an “all weather airport”.

People who fought during the JP Movement and subsequent Emergency period between March 18, 1974 and March 21, 1977 will get double the amount monthly as pension now, the Cabinet decided. Those who spent one to six months during Emergency in jail will get ₹15,000 while those who spent more than six months will get ₹30,000 as pension. Earlier, they were getting ₹7,500 and ₹15,000 every month respectively.

There are altogether 3,354 people getting the JP Senani pension, including Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad. 

The Cabinet also gave its nod to amend Rule 14 (telephone facility) of the Bihar Legislature (Salary, Allowance and Pension of members) Rules 2006. Members of the State legislature will not have to furnish bills to claim ₹8,300 per month towards telephone and Internet. Members will now get the amount without furnishing any bills.

The Cabinet hiked annual honorariums of booth-level officers (BLO) and BLO supervisors. Now the BLO will ₹14,000 against the existing ₹10,000 while the BLO supervisor will get ₹18,000 against the existing ₹15,000. A sum of ₹38.75 crore has been sanctioned for the purpose.