The cabinet on Wednesday approved the law department's proposal to reinstate Ram Balak Mahto as the advocate-general and annulled the appointment of Binod Kumar Kanth.

Kanth was appointed as advocate-general on February 18 following a cabinet meeting chaired by former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi. But he did not assume charge as Manjhi resigned from the post of chief minister on February 20, two days after the notification was issued.

Besides, the cabinet approved the proposal to release Rs 1,700 crore from the Bihar contingency fund to South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited and North Bihar Power Distribution Company to clear the arrears. The decision assumes significance in the wake of the government's commitment to supply power for 22 to 24 hours in urban areas and 15-20 hours in rural areas.

The cabinet decided in principle to sanction Rs 10 crore to Nalanda Medical College and Hospital for setting up a BSc nursing college. It also increased the corpus of the Bihar contingency fund from Rs 350 crore to Rs 2,000 crore for this fiscal.

The budget session of the two Houses of Bihar Legislature would start on March 11. Chief minister Nitish Kumar would seek the trust vote on March 11 after the address of the governor. The budget for the financial year 2015-16 would be tabled on March 12. A decision to this effect was taken in the cabinet meeting.

Earlier, the budget session was scheduled to start on February 20, the day Manjhi quit.