Bihar to get six new airports, cabinet gives key approval

Six more cities in Bihar will get air connectivity, with the state cabinet on Tuesday giving its nod for the signing of an agreement in this regard with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), officials said.

The new airports will be developed in Madhubani, Birpur in Supaul, Munger, Valmiki Nagar in Bettiah, Muzaffarpur and Saharsa under the Centre's regional connectivity scheme UDAN, they said.

The cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, gave its go-ahead for signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state's Directorate of Aviation and the AAI for developing the airports, they added.


"A total of Rs 150 crore has been allocated, with Rs 25 crore for the development of each airport," Additional Chief Secretary S Siddharth told reporters.

The decision was taken with a few months left for the assembly elections in the state.

The cabinet also gave its nod to the issuance of the Letter of Award (LoA) to Kumar Infratrade Enterprises Ltd for the construction of a five-star hotel near Income Tax Golumber in Patna, he said.

"The hotel will be developed on the public-private partnership (PPP) mode, and the land will be given on a 90-year lease. The bidding process for the construction of two more five-star hotels, near Bankipore Bus Stand and near R Golumber in Patna, is also being finalised," he added.

The cabinet also fixed the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for chana at Rs 5,650, mustard at Rs 5,950 and masoor at Rs 6,700, Siddharth said.

It was also decided that the contract of 1,717 retired army personnel recruited in the Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) will be extended till 2025-26.

The cabinet also approved guidelines for the recruitment of clerks and librarians in government schools and libraries.

"Under the new rules, 50 per cent of clerical posts in the Education Department will now be filled through compassionate appointments, while the remaining 50 per cent will be filled through direct recruitment," the officer said.