Patna, June 11 (IANS) The Bihar cabinet Tuesday approved a grant of Rs.5,000 per month to 17-year-old conjoined twins living in Patna, an official said.

"The state cabinet has cleared a grant of Rs.5,000 to conjoined twins Saba and Farah," Cabinet Secretary Brajesh Mehrotra told media persons here.

He said the state government had agreed to pay the grant following a Supreme Court directive in April.

The court ordered the Bihar government to pay the twins and take care of their medical expenses. The court direction came on a public interest litigation filed by Aarushi Dhasmana, a law student at Symbiosis Law School in Pune.

Saba and Farah are living with their parents in Samanpura locality in Patna.

The father of the girls, Shakeel Ahmad, said it would help the family take proper care of them. Ahmad runs a small roadside eatery here.

The Supreme Court in its order had ruled out surgery to separate the two sisters as the parents were not willing.