Patna: The Bihar Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, on Wednesday approved 43 proposals, headlined by a Rs 11,096.55 crore plan to strengthen the state's electricity distribution network, a feasibility study for an underground road corridor in Patna and floodplain mapping along the Kosi, Gandak and Son rivers.

Source: Patna Press

The power scheme will strengthen the low-tension distribution system and upgrade cables, overloaded transformers and related infrastructure in phases over a maximum of three years. The Cabinet authorised the state's two distribution companies to raise assistance from financial institutions and banks backed by a state guarantee — Rs 6,066 crore for North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited and Rs 5,030.55 crore for South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited. Officials said Bihar's peak electricity demand has risen from 1,802 MW in 2012 to 9,475 MW.

Patna underground corridor and floodplain study

The Cabinet approved Rs 18.21 crore for a feasibility study for an underground road corridor in Patna, examining routes including R Block Crossing to Kankarbagh and Dak Bungalow Crossing to Patna Women's College. It also approved a Flood Plain Zone Delineation Study, to be carried out under an MoU between the Water Resources Department and the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, at an estimated Rs 1.99 crore, and a dam safety assessment programme covering 24 dams at Rs 8.39 crore, targeted for completion within eight months. Additional Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar Chaudhary of the Cabinet Secretariat Department briefed on the decisions.

Other approvals included Rs 12 crore for the Bihar State Games 2026, Rs 43.50 crore in viability gap funding for regional air connectivity under UDAN for 29 months, transfer of 151.58 acres at the closed Motipur sugar mill in Muzaffarpur for other industries while retaining 115.08 acres for a sugar mill, and ex-post facto approval for the Bihar MSME Policy 2026. The Cabinet also created three City Superintendent of Police posts for Motihari, Purnia and Saran and sanctioned 143 posts for regional Economic Offences Unit offices.

Source: News4Exchange