Patna, Jan 10 (PTI) The Bihar cabinet on Friday approved acquisition of an additional 89.75 acres of land for expansion and development of the Darbhanga airport into an international one.

The council of ministers also gave its nod for acquisition of 139 acres of land worth Rs 207 crore for the expansion of Raxaul airport in the state, an official said.

These decisions were taken in the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar here.

Talking to reporters soon after the meeting, Additional Chief Secretary S Siddharth said, "The cabinet approved a proposal for the acquisition of 89.75 acres of land worth Rs 244.60 crore for the development and expansion of the existing Darbhanga airport into an international airport. The state government will pay the amount to the owners of the land... land will be transferred to the Airport Authority of India for the project".

The development and expansion of the existing Darbhanga airport will improve air connectivity and benefit the people of the entire Mithila region and other surrounding areas, he added.

Earlier, the state government had transferred 76.85 acres of land to the AAI in 2024 for the development of Darbhanga airport, including the new civil enclave, which will cover 52 acres.

Key features of the project include a terminal building, cargo complex, multi-level car parking, fire station and other related structures.

"The cabinet also approved the acquisition of 139 acres of land worth Rs 207 crore for the expansion of Raxaul airport in the state," he said.

The Raxaul airport will be developed by the AAI, he said, adding this will improve economic activities in the state.

The cabinet also gave its nod for the acquisition of 1243.45 acres of land for the development of industrial parks in Vaishali district for Rs 1001.92 crore, 504.52 acres in Sitamarhi for Rs 298.77 crore and the transfer of 29.30 acres in Chanpatia in West Champaran, he said.

Besides, cabinet approval for the sanction of Rs 2,960.48 crore was also granted for the construction of several new developmental/infrastructural projects recently announced by the CM during his 'Pragati Yatra' in several districts in the state, Siddharth said.

"A proposal of the state transport department for the installation of CCTV and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras at 72 important crossings in 26 districts in the state was also approved by the cabinet.

Installation of such cameras will check traffic violations in these districts", he said.

The cabinet approved a total of 55 agendas in the meeting on Friday. PTI PKD BDC

Land acquisition approvals enable airport expansion and transfers to the national airport authority, plus industrial and surveillance projects. The state cabinet authorised multiple land acquisition proposals and compensation commitments to expand and develop regional airports, transferring acquired parcels to the national airport authority for construction of terminal, cargo, parking, fire station and related facilities. It separately approved land for industrial park development across districts and sanctioned consolidated funds for infrastructure projects, while authorising installation of CCTV and ANPR cameras at key crossings to monitor traffic violations.