No toll tax on Bihar govt bridges from April 1: Minister

The government has carried out a series of reforms to increase the participation of mid-sized EPC players in the tendering process of construction contracts, Ind-Ra said.

People will not have to pay any toll tax on Bihar government bridges from April 1, 2018, the state's Road Construction Minister Nand Kishore Yadav said today.

"We have decided that people will not have to pay any toll (tax) on all the bridges built by either state government or Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Ltd with effect from April 1 (2018). People of Bihar can travel on these bridges free of cost," Yadav said in the Assembly.

He was replying to a debate on his department's Budgetary allocation of Rs 6,889.12 crore for 2018-19, which was later passed by a voice vote after RJD members staged a walkout from the House, expressing dissatisfaction on the government's reply.

Due to "effective" road maintenance policy, around 8,000 km of roads have become "pothole-free" in the state, Yadav claimed.

The Bihar government has taken a decision to issue a fresh tender for road maintenance under "output and performance-based road assets maintenance contract (OPRMC)", under which bids would be invited for maintenance of 15,000 km of roads for seven years, he said.

The minister added that the state government has also decided to build a ring road in Patna, for which a DPR is being prepared.