Patna: The state cabinet, chaired by CM Samrat Choudhary, on Wednesday approved the govt’s decision to raise Rs4,750 crore from the World Bank for implementing projects under the Bihar Urban Transformation Programme. The initiative aims to strengthen the economic base of select cities and their aggregated townships through planned urban development and creation of infrastructure, with a focus on long-term and environment-sensitive growth. The proposal was moved by the urban development and housing department.The cabinet also granted administrative sanction of Rs15,967.03 crore to the road construction department (RCD) for inspection, monitoring and maintenance of 19,305.58 km of roads over seven years.The work will be carried out under 100 packages using a centralised command and control system and new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI). Additional chief secretary of the cabinet secretariat department, Arvind Choudhary, said the funds will be used for maintenance of RCD roads.The cabinet approved the RCD’s proposal to collect road user fees on state highways, key bridges and other major roads under its jurisdiction. Rules for the same are being framed and are expected to be cleared within a month.It also cleared the transfer of 1.85 acres of Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (Biada) land near Patna airport to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for development of airport-related infrastructure.In view of investor interest, the cabinet extended the Bihar Industrial Investment Incentive Package, 2025, till June 30, 2026.The cabinet approved three anti-erosion projects by the water resources department in Bhojpur, Saran and Vaishali districts. These include works near Gangapur, Bhusaula, Nandpur and Damodarpur in Bhojpur (Rs 52.56crore), Ballitola to Sabalpur Pachhiyari Tola in Saran (Rs57.55 crore), and Ganiyari village in Vaishali (Rs64.12 crore).The transport department’s revised estimate of Rs517.16 crore for procurement of 400 electric AC buses was also approved. The buses will be deployed across six cities — 150 in Patna and 50 each in Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Gaya, Darbhanga and Purnia.The cabinet extended the MoU between Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, and the state’s science and technology department for its Patna extension centre till Dec 16, 2030. The term of the seventh state finance commission has been extended till Sept 30.Approval was also given for an AI training programme for legislators, govt officials and employees. Additionally, Rs 1.53 crore was sanctioned for the purchase of six vehicles for the governor’s secretariat for 2026-27.The cabinet also cleared a proposal to simplify and make transparent the process for govt employees and pensioners to withdraw funds from banks and financial institutions for emergency, short-term and long-term needs.
