Cabinet announces key road and rail projects worth Rs 7,616 crore in Bihar

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Union Cabinet on September 10 approved key infrastructure projects worth Rs 7,616 crore in Bihar. The announcement comes a few months ahead of state assembly elections in Bihar.

The Cabinet approved the construction of a four-lane greenfield access controlled Mokama-Munger section of the Buxar-Bhagalpur high-speed corridor. The project will be built under the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) with a total project length of 82.4 km and a total capital cost of Rs 4,447.38 crore, a statement said.

The new road section will provide connectivity to important regional cities such as Mokama, Barahiya, Lakhisarai, Jamalpur, Munger connecting to Bhagalpur, a statement said.

"This is a section of the corridor from Buxar to Bhagalpur. Its investment will be Rs 4,447 crore. This is an important project of southern Bihar. In this, if we go from Buxar to Patna, there is already a good network and further from Patna to Fatuha and from Fatuha further down to Begusarai, this project is almost completed, with some six lanes and some four lanes. The section that has been approved today is 82 kilometer from Mokama to Munger, further from Munger to Bhagalpur... Overall travel time of about 1 hour will be saved due to this project," Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

In addition, the government also cleared the doubling of 177-km long Bhagalpur–Dumka–Rampurhat single railway line section passing through Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal with a total cost of Rs 3,169 crore.

Vaishnaw said the project is "very important" as it will connect Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The project will start from Bihar and connect with West Bengal in Rampurhat. Currently, the trains run from Bhagalpur to Howrah via Malda and Rampurhat.

"After this doubling, many trains will be able to go from Bhagalpur to Dumka and from there directly to Rampurhat. Many passenger trains, mail express trains will be able to go through this and it also connects the pilgrimage place of Deoghar. In a way, the connectivity that South Bihar needs towards Kolkata is provided by this project," the minister said during a press briefing.

The increased capacity will "improve mobility, providing enhanced efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways", according to the government.

With agency inputs