Patna: The state cabinet on Tuesday approved the Bihar Building Bylaws, 2026, replacing the rules framed in 2014. The new rules provide for deemed approval of building maps if the local urban body concerned does not clear them within 30 days.Cabinet secretariat department additional chief secretary Arwind Kumar Choudhary said the proposal, moved by the urban development and housing department, includes risk-based classification of residential and commercial buildings, a negative list specifying restrictions on builders and provisions for floor area ratio (FAR).Buildings up to 10 metres high have been classified as low risk, those between 10 and 24 metres as medium risk, and those above 24 metres as high risk.The rules provide for an approach road of up to 3.7 metres and a setback on only one side to allow emergency vehicles access from the rear. Parking space will be calculated at 15 square metres per vehicle. Building map approvals can be revalidated for five years, with automatic revalidation on payment of the prescribed fee. Permits for existing buildings can also be obtained on payment of the fee and submission of maps.To promote green housing, buildings with three-star, four-star and five-star certification will be eligible for additional FAR of 5%, 10% and 15%, respectively. Fire safety provisions have also been incorporated into the building permit process.The cabinet approved an increase in dearness allowance (DA) for govt employees, pensioners and family pensioners covered by the fifth, sixth and seventh pay commissions, effective retrospectively from July 1. DA for those under the fifth pay commission has been raised from 483% to 497%, for the sixth from 262% to 269%, and for the seventh from 60% to 63%. The revision will impose an additional annual burden of Rs 1,088 crore on the state exchequer.The cabinet also approved the establishment of the Bihar Artificial Intelligence (AI) Mission to help the state advance in the sector. Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN), Singapore, has been selected to develop the AI ecosystem through skill training and innovation.It also cleared the ‘Bihar Ki Beti Startup Challenge’ to promote skills and entrepreneurship among highly educated girls. The scheme will cover 2,100 students over four years, starting this fiscal, with an allocation of Rs 88 crore.The cabinet further sanctioned the release of Rs 1,399 crore from the contingency fund for the rural development department to meet expenditure under the PM Gramin Awas Yojana.
