Cabinet raises ex gratia for deceased migrant workers to Rs4 lakh

Patna: The state cabinet on Friday approved the govt’s proposal to increase the ex gratia payment to the next of kin of a migrant worker from the existing Rs 2 lakh to Rs 4 lakh in case of death due to an accident anywhere in the country outside Bihar.The cabinet also decided that the govt would bear the cost of bringing back the body of a deceased migrant worker to his home in the state. This provision would apply even if the death occurs outside the country, sources said, adding that the concerned family would not have to incur any expenditure for transporting the body. However, the amount payable by the govt for the treatment of various kinds of injuries suffered by migrant workers will remain unchanged.Overall, the cabinet cleared 17 proposals placed before it by different departments. Among them was the approval to bear the cost of developing a centre of excellence, also known as the Physical Modelling Centre, at Birpur. The centre is intended to provide advanced scenarios for flood control of the river Kosi, including the movement of floodwaters and measures for silt removal. The cabinet approved the release of Rs 32 crore to complete the remaining work on the Physical Modelling Centre at Birpur.

After the Kosi flood disaster in six districts in Aug 2008, the govt had decided to establish two centres of excellence — one at Birpur and another at Patna. The Patna centre houses the Mathematical Modelling Centre, developed with World Bank assistance, which provides advance warnings regarding floods in the river Kosi.While the Patna centre has been functional for some time, the World Bank-funded project for the Birpur centre has ended.

The state govt has therefore decided to fund the completion of the remaining work at Birpur. Officials said that, otherwise, the water resources department had to depend on the national centre at Pune for river studies and flood-related assessments.The cabinet also approved the allotment of Rs 349 crore to meet expenses incurred on providing 125 units of free electricity. In addition, it cleared the presentation of the third supplementary budget of the 2025-26 fiscal during the current budget session for the 2026-27 financial year.Another key decision related to urban local bodies. As per the cabinet’s approval, members of the empowered standing committees of urban local bodies will be selected through secret voting. The elected members of the urban local body will act as voters. At present, members of these committees are nominated by the mayor, chief councillor or chairperson.The secret voting process will be conducted under the supervision, direction and control of the district magistrate of the concerned district. The cabinet cleared the Municipal Bill in this regard, which will now be presented in the assembly for passage.