PATNA: The Bihar cabinet on Monday approved a proposal to improve air connectivity. Under the plan, five new airports and nine heliports will be made operational across the state.
The districts where new airports will be built include Kishanganj, Saran, Begusarai, Araria and Gopalganj. Nine heliports will be built in Aurangabad, Banka, Jamui, Katihar, Khagaria, Nawada, Sheikhpura and Sitamarhi districts.
The state government will bear 25 per cent of the total cost and spend Rs. 10 lakh per annum on publicity during the operation of flights. The government will ensure free-of-cost pick-up and drop facilities to nearby towns from airports and heliports.
In addition, the government will also provide relaxations in taxes and extend financial support to the agencies. This will help the government provide better air connectivity to towns and cities. The proposed airports and heliports will be built in PPP mode.
The cabinet also approved the construction of a five-star hotel at Vaishali, the noted tourist destination. The state tourism department has already amended its earlier resolution to accelerate the construction of the hotel.
The project will work under the PPP mode. Earlier, it was decided to build the resort on five acres of land, but the area has been extended to 10 acres. Besides, a tech park will be developed in the Gardanibagh locality of Patna, which will provide jobs to 5,000 people.
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, in his post-cabinet address, said that Bihar would be made a hub of entrepreneurship, employment and innovation under the BJP-led NDA government in the state. “Bihar will also contribute to building a developed India by 2047,” he added.
Choudhary said that all possible efforts would be made to make Bihar a major centre of investment, employment and entrepreneurship.
Highlighting the contribution of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Choudhary said that Bihar had made significant progress under the leadership of PM Modi.
“Modi ji’s commitment to ensuring that the benefits of development reach socially marginalised people serves as an inspiration for all of us,” he said.
During his 25-year-long journey from CM of Gujarat to PM of the country, circumstances kept changing, but the idea of ‘nation first, citizen first’ did not change for the Prime Minister, Choudhary said, adding that solving people’s problems had been a priority for the PM.
He thanked PM Modi for showing his keen interest in Bihar’s development. Be it the construction of pucca houses, toilets, roads and bridges, or the provision of LPG cylinders and electricity to the poor, PM Modi had worked relentlessly to serve the people, he added.