Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of nine highway projects in Bihar today. He also laid foundation of ‘Har Gaon Optical Fibre Cable’ for Internet Services to connect all villages of Bihar. Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar presided over the virtual function, which was attended by Union Ministers Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad and Shri Giriraj Singh, Bihar Governor Shri Fagu Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Sushil Kumar Modi, Union MoSs Shri R K Singh, Gen (Dr) V K Singh (Retd), Shri Ashwini Kumar Chaube, Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Ministers from the State, several MPs, MLAs and senior officers from the Centre and the State.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said, today is an important day for expediting the infrastructure development and economic activities in Bihar. He said, history has witnessed that only that nation progresses, which invests heavily on infrastructure. Today, Highways are being constructed at double the earlier speed. Investment on road construction has also been increased five times. He said, Bihar is one of the biggest beneficiary of this infrastructure development. The projects in today’s programme will also connect all major cities in the State. He said, while making plans for road development in Bihar, the government has given due weightage to construction of bridges over the rivers. As a result, 17 river bridges are being made in Bihar. He said, due care is being given towards developing multi-modal transport system in the country. He said the Government has announced to spend more than Rs 110 Lakh Crore on infrastructure in the coming 4-5 years. Out of this, projects worth more than Rs 19 lakh crore are allocated for the development of Highways alone.
The Prime Minister said Bihar is also benefiting from these efforts to expand the infrastructure related to road and connectivity. Under the Prime Ministers Package announced in 2015, over 3000 Kms of National Highway were proposed. In addition, under the Bharatmala Project, a six and a half kilometer national highway is being constructed. Today in Bihar, the work on the national highway grid is going at a fast pace. There are 5 projects underway to connect East and West Bihar with four lanes and 6 projects underway to connect North India with South India.
Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar said, apart from the PM’s package also, the Centre is contributing to State’s infrastructure. He praised the Prime Minister’s efforts for upliftment of the State. He also complimented the Centre for speedily completing the Highways and bridges in the State. He, however, requested for consideration of the need for a direct route between Buxar and Varanasi. The Chief Minister also pointed out the need for uniformity in NH width for smooth flow of traffic. Shri Nitish Kumar said, the government is doing all that is possible to increase per capital income of the people in the State. Underlining the importance of maintenance of roads, he also said that roads and bridges have been made part of the public grievance system. He said that large scale plantation of trees would be done along the National Highways in order to protect the environment.
Union Minister of Law and Justice, Electronic and Information Technology and Communications Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad said that it is a historic day for Bihar as two major projects related to physical and digital infrastructure are being inaugurated. Shri Prasad said that Har Gaon Optical Fibre Cable for Internet Services project of Union Department of Telecommunication will be implemented by Common Service Centres (CSCs) of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. This will be very important in providing e-services in rural areas.
Union Minister of State for RTH Gen (Dr) V K Singh (Retd) informed that these projects carry a Road length of about 350 kilometers, involving construction value of Rs 14258 crore. He said, these roads will enhance better connectivity, convenience and economic growth in and around the State. Movement of people and goods to and from the State will also improve substantially especially with the neighbouring States of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal. He said, better roads lead to savings in time and fuel and as well lower emission of pollutants. These project will decongest roads and the enroute towns contributing to improved road experience.
Deputy Chief Minister Shri Sushil Kumar Modi said, these projects are part of PM’s package of Rs 1,25,000 crore announced four years ago. While there was only one river bridge in Bihar earlier, now there will be 17 bridges over rivers in the State. He said, the State government is working hard on developing the infrastructure for betterment of people’s life. He said, today’s Bihar is a great example of co-operation between the Centre and the State.
The Prime Minister had declared a special package for significant infrastructure development of Bihar in the year 2015. This included 75 projects worth Rs 54,700 crore, of which 13 projects have been completed, work is undergoing at 38 and others are in DPR/Bidding/Sanction stage. With the completion of these projects, all rivers in Bihar will have bridges conforming to 21st century specifications, and all major NHs will stand widened and strengthened. Under the PM’s package, total number of bridges over river Ganga will become 17, with lane capacity of 62. This way, on an average, there will be a bridge over rivers in the State at every 25 kilometres.
These include four-laning of 47.23 km Bakhtiyarpur-Rajauli section of NH-31 (pkg-2) at a cost of Rs 1149.55 crore, four-laning of 50.89 km Bakhtiyarpur-Rajauli section of NH-31 (pkg-3) at a cost of Rs 2650.76 crore, four-laning of 55 km Ara-Parariya section of NH-30 on EPC Mode at a cost of Rs 885.41 crore, four-laning of 60.80 km Parariya-Mohania section of NH-30 on EPC Mode at a cost of Rs 855.93 crore, four-laning of 49 km Narenpur-Purnea Section of NH-131A on HAM Mode at a cost of Rs 2288 crore, six-laning of 39 km Patna-Ring Road PKG-I (Kanhauli-Ramnagar) of NH 131G on EPC Mode at a cost of Rs 913.15 crore, construction of a new 14.5 km four-lane bridge (Parallel to existing MG Setu) with its approaches across river Ganga on NH-19 at Patna at a cost of Rs 2926.42 crore, construction of a new 28.93 km 4-lane bridge across river Kosi on NH-106 with 2-Lane paved shoulder on EPC mode at a cost of Rs 1478.40 crore, and construction of new 4.445 km 4-Lane bridge (parallel to existing Vikramashila Setu) across river Ganga on NH-131B at a cost of Rs 1110.23 crore.
