Bihar Cabinet clears greenfield international airport in Sonpur; 35 proposals approved

Patna, Feb 20 (IANS) A Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was held on Friday amid the ongoing budget session of the Bihar Assembly.

After the conclusion of Assembly proceedings, the state Cabinet met at 5:30 p.m. and approved 35 important proposals, including major infrastructure and flood-control projects.

The Bihar Cabinet has approved the construction of a Greenfield International Airport in Sonpur, located in the Saran district.

Funds amounting to Rs 1,302 crore have been sanctioned for land acquisition for the project.

According to the proposal, the airport will be developed in the Dariyapur Chanwar area, situated between Hajipur and Dumaria (Gaya).

The state government has set a target to complete the airport by 2030.

The decision is being seen as a major boost to regional connectivity in north Bihar.

Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha MP from Saran, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, welcomed the state Cabinet’s decision and expressed gratitude to the state government for approving the long-pending demand.

The state Cabinet also approved a Rs 70 crore anti-erosion project in the Ismailpur–Bindtola area to protect Bhagalpur from severe erosion caused by the Ganga.

The Bihar Water Resources Department has prepared a detailed action plan to curb annual riverbank erosion, which leads to large-scale flooding and poses a serious threat to residential and agricultural areas in and around Bhagalpur.

Earlier, during the budget session on February 6, another state Cabinet meeting approved 17 agenda items.

Major decisions included Rs 4 lakh compensation to dependents of road accident victims, government-funded transportation of bodies of migrant workers who die outside the state, free medical treatment for injured migrant workers, expansion of powers of MLA and MP representatives, allowing their nominees to participate in district-level meetings, and approval of the Municipal Council Standing Empowered Committee.

The latest state Cabinet decisions reflect the Bihar government’s focus on infrastructure development, disaster mitigation, and social welfare during the budget session.

–IANS

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