PATNA, Nov. 11 -- The state cabinet on Tuesday approved a 3% hike in dearness allowance (DA) for state government employees and pensioners and cleared the long-pending Bihar Building Bye-laws, 2026 in a meeting chaired by chief minister Samrat Choudhary. These are among the 32 proposals of various departments, which were cleared by the cabinet. The DA of those drawing salary and pension under the 7th pay commission will rise from 60 per cent to 63 per cent with effect from July 1, 2026. Employees and pensioners under the 5th and 6th pay commissions will also receive corresponding increases. Officials estimate the annual burden on the state exchequer at around Rs.1,100 crore. Family pensioners will get the benefit as well, said additional chief secretary, cabinet, Arvind Kumar Chaudhary after the meeting. Alongside the DA decision, the cabinet gave its nod to the new building bye-laws that will replace the 2014 rules and fundamentally alter how construction permissions are granted across Bihar. The most significant change is the introduction of 'deemed approval', which meant that a building plan will be treated as approved in case the competent authority does not decide on it within 30 days. Buildings have been classified into three risk categories. Residential and commercial structures up to 10 metres in height fall in the low-risk category and can obtain permits on the basis of self-declaration. Structures between 10 and 24 metres will be treated as medium risk and require technical clearance at the architect level. Buildings taller than 24 metres will be high-risk and will need formal approval from the urban local body or development authority. A uniform base floor area ratio (FAR) of 3.0 has been fixed for all plots. Builders will be allowed to purchase unlimited premium FAR. Height restrictions have also been eased, subject to statutory and safety conditions, opening the way for taller buildings in urban areas. Setback norms have been simplified. Instead of mandatory setbacks on all four sides, only one-side setback is now required so that emergency vehicles can reach the rear of the building. For structures up to 15 metres, a 3.7-metre setback is mandatory; thereafter the setback increases by 0.3 metre for every additional three metres of height, subject to a maximum of nine metres. Smaller buildings of prescribed size will get exemptions. Parking norms have been revised. Calculation will be done at 15 square metres per car. Every residential unit must have one car parking space. Educational, commercial and institutional buildings will need one parking space for every 100 square metres of built-up area, while industrial and storage buildings will require one space for every 300 square metres. Parking provided on any floor will not be counted towards FAR. Green buildings certified under GRIHA, IGBC or ECBC will receive additional FAR - five per cent for three-star, 10 per cent for four-star and 15 per cent for five-star ratings. The cabinet also cleared several other proposals. It approved an advance of Rs.1,399.60 crore from the Bihar Contingency Fund for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin to accelerate construction of already sanctioned rural houses. Of this, Rs.450.15 crore is the central share and Rs.949.45 crore the state share. A new scheme, 'Bihar ki Beti Startup Challenge', received administrative approval of Rs.88.20 crore. The four-year programme (2026-27 to 2029-30) aims to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship among girl students in higher educational institutions and is expected to benefit up to 2,100 young women. Under the PM-SETU scheme, Centres for Invention, Innovation, Incubation and Training (CIIIT) will be set up in government ITIs of Rohtas, Munger, Patna, Purnia and Madhubani in collaboration with Tata Technologies Limited. The cabinet cleared an outlay of Rs.1,174.81 crore for these centres. The revised estimate of the four-lane Bakhtiyarpur-Tajpur bridge and approach roads across the Ganga has been approved at Rs.4,572.53 crore for the third time. The project comprises a 5.52-km bridge and 45.40 km of approach roads. The state government will provide Rs.1,834.30 crore to complete the work, which is expected to improve connectivity between north and south Bihar....