Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary met Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on Monday and sought expedited approval for major road and expressway projects in the state, Patna Press reported.

Source: Patna Press

The meeting focused on four major greenfield and road infrastructure projects covering approximately 330 km. According to Choudhary, the projects have received clearance from the central Public-Private Partnership Appraisal Committee and are awaiting final approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). Their combined estimated cost is Rs 49,751 crore, and Choudhary requested Gadkari to facilitate their early approval.

Rs 49,751 croreCombined estimated cost of the four projects
~330 kmTotal length covered by the four projects
Rs 31,987.11 croreEstimated cost of the Patna-Purnia expressway

The largest proposal is the Patna-Purnia four-lane greenfield expressway, estimated to cost Rs 31,987.11 crore. The other projects are a two-lane bridge over the Gandak river on NH-727AA with connecting roads, estimated at Rs 1,976.77 crore, which will connect Manuapul in Bettiah, West Champaran, with Tiwaripatti in Sevrahi, Uttar Pradesh; a six-lane elevated road and service roads along the Saristabad-Didarganj and Anisabad-Didarganj sections, estimated at Rs 8,455.86 crore; and the Konki village to Lerua village section of the six-lane Varanasi-Ranchi-Kolkata greenfield highway, estimated at Rs 7,331.40 crore.

Choudhary also urged the Centre to formally notify the portion of the Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway passing through Bihar as a National Expressway at the earliest. He said the state government was supporting the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in pre-construction activities while land acquisition was progressing in the districts concerned, and that the expressway would involve new bridges over rivers in North Bihar. On the Raxaul-Haldia Expressway, he said land acquisition had begun following approval of the revised route, highlighted its importance for trade with Nepal and direct connectivity between Bihar and Haldia port, and sought early notification and formal approval.

The widening of the Muzaffarpur-Barauni section of National Highway 122 into a four-lane road was also discussed, and Choudhary urged Gadkari to expedite the work. He said the state Road Construction Department had been entrusted with the maintenance and development of approximately 2,329 km of national highways in Bihar and had submitted Detailed Project Reports to the Centre for six national highway projects covering 323 km, with a combined estimated cost of Rs 13,015 crore, including the approach road to the Vikramshila Bridge and the four-laning of the Mashrakh-Chakiya-Bhithamore stretch.

During his visit to the national capital, Choudhary also met Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, with discussions focused on security-related issues concerning Bihar's border districts, and met Member of Parliament Dharmendra Pradhan, according to the reports. He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gadkari for their continued support for road and infrastructure development in Bihar. The next step for the four projects is the awaited CCEA approval.

Source: Nation Press