An additional 150,000 hectares (some 370,650 acres) in Biro-Bidjan will be brought under cultivation in order to make possible the settlement of 200,000 Jews in the autonomous Jewish territory in the next few years, according to a plan approved yesterday by a special conference of the Agricultural Commissariat here.
The conference also decided to develop Biro-Bidjan into the biggest center of light industries in the Far East. Plans for the exploitation of coal fields in the region were also acted upon.
These plans, however, must first be approved by the Soviet Government before they can go into effect.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
