PATNA, June 18 -- The state cabinet on Wednesday cleared 29 proposals , including the Chief Minister Bihar Heli-Tourism and Air Tourism Service Scheme 2026, aiming to link key tourist destinations through helicopter and small aircraft services for efficient travel at a meeting chaired by chief minister Samrat Choudhary. Additional chief secretary (cabinet) Arvind Kumar Chaudhary said the heli-tourism initiative sought to give prominent heritage and religious sites a fresh identity by drastically cutting travel time. The first phase of the scheme will run from July 15 to January 15 2027, initially covering Valmikinagar in West Champaran, Maa Mundeshwari Temple in Kaimur and Rajgir in Nalanda. Government aircraft will be used for Valmikinagar, while eight-seater choppers will serve the other two locations. Weekend joy rides by helicopter from Patna have also been planned at Rs.2,100 per person. The cabinet also gave the nod for developing the Buddha Samyak Darshan Museum-cum-Memorial Stupa in Vaishali. To strengthen tourism infrastructure, the cabinet approved the conversion of 217 inspection buildings of the water resources department -located near dams, barrages and reservoirs-into modern guest houses and eco-tourism centres. These will be developed under public-private partnership or other models, with investors getting 30-yr land leases. The project will also revive 58 dilapidated structures, providing better accommodation to tourists. To improve road safety, the government will install an intelligent traffic management system across 500 locations. It will enable electronic enforcement and automatic challans for violations. An estimated Rs.622 crore has been earmarked for next 10 years from Bihar security fund. On the urban development front, the cabinet eased norms for land acquisition and sale in 11 proposed greenfield satellite townships. Farmers and landowners within these zones will receive twice the market rate or circle rate (whichever is higher) for urban land and four times for rural land, plus an additional 10% incentive. State housing board has been authorised to purchase land directly to meet immediate financial needs of landowners. Private investors approved by state investment promotion board will be allowed to buy or lease land directly. The 11 townships include Pataliputra, Hariharnathpur, Magadh, Mithila, Koshi, Purnia, Ang, Sitapuram, Vikramshila, Tirhut and Saran. In the mining sector, the cabinet sanctioned Rs.2.32 crore for a detailed study on red sand availability in five rivers-Son, Kiul, Falgu, Morhar and Chanan-after the monsoon. Ranchi-based Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Limited will conduct the survey. The Bihar state mining corporation has been made nodal agency for pre e-auction formalities, including mining plans and environmental clearances for stone quarries....