The cabinet on Tuesday cleared the home department's proposal for the appointment of an IPS officer as inspector-general of prisons.

Earlier, the post of inspector-general (prisons) was filled only by an IAS officer.

A decision was taken at a cabinet meeting presided over by chief minister Nitish Kumar. Under the new provisions, the post would now be held either by an IAS or IPS officer.

There are a few states like Bengal where an IPS officer is given the charge of inspector-general of prisons. Hailing the move, a senior Bihar-cadre IPS officer said: "The new system will help the government tackle the problem in the state's prisons more effectively."

The move assumes significance in the wake of anomalies in the functioning of the prisons. Recently, the chief minister had to intervene to initiate disciplinary action against the superintendent of Kishanganj divisional jail, who was arrested on molestation charge.

Similarly, stern action was initiated against officials of Siwan and Biharsharif jails. While the Siwan jail superintendent was suspended for allowing a minister and his supporters to meet incarcerated former RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin in the jail in violation of the Prison Manual, Biharsharif jail personnel had to face action for hosting a feast at the behest of jailed Nawada MLA Raj Ballabh Prasad.

Nitish had announced that he would not tolerate such lapses on the part of the jail officials. The home department is looked after by the chief minister himself.

The cabinet also put its seal on the proposal to hire an eight-seater charter aircraft for official use. At present, the government has one four-seater helicopter, which is used for official purposes. Another chopper is non-functional for long.

In another decision, the cabinet passed the proposal for setting up a separate commission for the recruitment of police constables.

The move is aimed at accelerating the process of recruitment of police personnel to match the police-public ratio, which is much less in the state compared to the national ratio.

The government had earlier decided to raise a separate woman battalion. The battalion, known as Bihar Swabhiman Police Battalion, would comprise only tribal women. The vacancies for the recruitment of 675 personnel in the proposed battalion were advertised last year.

The headquarters of the proposed battalion would be in the Champaran region where women belonging to the Tharu tribe are in sizeable number.

The cabinet also decided to construction a new building for the Bihar Public Service Commission. Its present building on the Bailey Road is an old one and also in dilapidated condition.

The Bihar Public Service Commission is assigned to conduct important exams.