Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday approved 49 proposals in a cabinet meeting, including measures seen as populist ahead of state assembly elections. The decisions range from a salary hike to large-scale investments in infrastructure, education, and welfare schemes.
Among the key approvals were the creation of new teaching and non-teaching posts in 40 residential schools for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students, and funds worth over Rs 65 crore for the construction of a Dr B.R. Ambedkar residential school in Gopalganj. The cabinet also sanctioned the formation of new cultural and administrative branches in the Department of Art, Culture and Youth, along with the creation of 25 posts.
A significant budgetary approval of Rs 574 crore was cleared for land acquisition in Patna’s Punpun area for new sports infrastructure. Road construction projects also featured prominently, including the third revised approval for the JP Ganga Path in Patna, now estimated at more than Rs 4,100 crore, and multiple upgrades to stretches of State Highway 95 under an Asian Development Bank-funded programme.
The cabinet authorised the state to sell e-waste through the Metal Scrap Trade Corporation and cleared major scholarship schemes for students from Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBC). These include the launch of the OBC post-graduation scholarship scheme under the PM-YASASVI programme, with an annual allocation of Rs 231 crore, and a pre-matric scholarship scheme for classes 9 and 10 worth Rs 55 crore.
Other decisions included administrative approval for the construction of an OBC girls’ residential +2 high school in Patna district, costing more than Rs 58 crore.
With just months to go before elections, the flurry of approvals reflects the government’s push to deliver benefits across education, welfare, and infrastructure, while critics are expected to view them as last-minute populist moves aimed at consolidating voter support.
