Patna: The first big-ticket investment under Bihar Industrial Investment Promotion Policy (BIIPP) 2016 in the form of a cement manufacturing plant worth Rs 490 crore in Aurangabad was given final clearance by the state cabinet on Tuesday.

Cabinet secretariat department special secretary Upendra Nath Pandey said the investment proposal was approved at a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Nitish Kumar at the state secretariat. The investment in the form of private capital is to be done by Delhi-based Shree Cement Limited at Industrial Development Centre (IDC) in Aurangabad where it will establish a cement-manufacturing unit having a capacity of 550 lakh tonnes per year at a cost of Rs 490 crore.

"It's a big-ticket investment for Bihar. The company's proposed unit will be spread over 2.61 lakh square feet. It will produce cement by using fly ash, slag, gypsum and clinker (stony residue from burnt coal or from a furnace)," industries department principal secretary S. Siddharth said.

"The unit will also have a 30MW solar power plant. The state government has given its final clearance to it under BIIPP 2016 and it is now eligible for all financial encouragements provisioned in the BIIPP. The unit is expected to begin commercial production from April this year and it will also help create employment opportunities in the state," Siddharth added.

A final clearance to receive benefits under the BIIPP 2016 was also accorded to a 10MW solar power plant established by Delhi-based Sunmark Energy Projects Limited at Jalsaar in Sherghati subdivision in Gaya at a cost of Rs 81 crore.

The solar power plant in Gaya is operational since November 2016 and produces alternate current energy with the help of photo-voltaic cells and with the cabinet's approval will now be eligible to get various financial benefits and subsidies provisioned in the BIIPP 2016.

The state also enhanced the monetary assistance for the treatment of various diseases under Mukhyamantri Chikitsa Sahayata Kosh between Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000 and also included several new diseases and treatment procedures, including bone marrow transplant, haemophilia, hepatitis, transgender surgery, trauma and brain haemorrhage.

The cabinet also increased the honorarium for kisan salahkar (agriculture consultant) from Rs 8,000 to Rs 12,000 with effect from April 1, 2017.