Four expressways will crisscross Bihar under the Bharatmala Project (Phase-2). The state also plans to construct ring roads around four major cities including Darbhanga, Bhagalpur and Muzaffarpur and build eight bypass roads to ease traffic loads, state Road Construction Minister Nitin Nabin has said.
Replying to a debate in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, the minister said ring roads will be constructed around important towns to decongest traffic.
Navin said that under the Bharatmala Project (Phase-2), Rs 29,000-crore six-lane Gorakhpur-Siliguri greenfield expressway, which will have 416-km stretch in Bihar, Rs 19,000-crore Varanasi-Kolkata greenfield expressway passing through Kaimur, Rohtas, Aurangabad and Gaya, Rs 20,000-crore Raxaul-Haldia greenfield project via Raxaul, East Champaran, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Hajipur and Banka and the Patna-Ara-Sasaram greenfield expressway which will be connected to Ara ring road with a 12-km connecting road at an estimated cost of Rs 381-crore would give a major boost to the state connectivity and the economy.
The minister said under the Bharatmala Project- (Phase-1), 23 projects have been selected involving 1017-km road at an estimated cost of Rs 23,240 crore and contractor has been selected for five, while tender process is underway for three.
He said the state had witnessed transformation in road connectivity under the NDA government with a strong network of roads and bridges, including in the Maoist-affected regions and along the long Indo-Nepal border.
“The Indo-Nepal border roads stretches for 729 kms, starting from Madanpur in West Champaran and passing through several districts. While 167-km stretch is part of NH-104, construction and land acquisition is on for another 552-km stretch. Efforts are on to complete the project by December 2023. The work on 178-km stretch has been completed,” Nabin said.
On Opposition criticism to poor maintenance of roads, the minister said that under output and performance-based road assets maintenance contract (OPRMC), which was started in 2013, over 13000 kms of roads are under long-term maintenance and not many complaints have been received from the members.
“Now the government also plans to link it with the command and control room for real-time report on the status of roads as well as the availability of road ambulances. Mere criticism is not good. If there are specific problems, do bring it to the government notice so that prompt action could be taken,” he said.
The minister said that under the government’s 7-resolves (2020-25), several ring roads and elevated roads have been planned at an estimated cost of Rs 143.12 crore. This includes ring roads for densely populated towns like Darbhanga, Bhagalpur and Muzaffarpur and bypasses for other towns.
