Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday inaugurated Aranya Bhavan, the new headquarters of the environment and forests department, on Shaheed Peer Ali Marg.

The G+6 building, spread over an area of 25,900ft, near the airport has been built over three years at an estimated cost of Rs 26.61 crore.

Till now, the directorate and officers of Indian Forest Services-rank in the forest department used to work from 13 different locations in Patna, including Technology Bhavan, Vishveshwarya Bhavan and Officers' Colony. With the inauguration of the Aranya Bhavan, all the offices concerned would shift to Shaheed Peer Ali Marg.

At the event, Nitish also released Gaach Gooch, a book focusing on the different species of plants and trees found in Bihar. He claimed that that the forest cover in the state has increased from 9.79 per cent in 2011-12 to 12.86 per cent in the past fiscal.

Population talk

Legislative Council chairman Awadhesh Narayan Singh on Tuesday underlined the need to empower women, particularly in the rural areas, to check population growth in the state.

Speaking at a seminar on population stabilisation and challenges in Bihar, Singh said rapid rise in population would put strain on the state's financial resources that are for the use of people's welfare.