Work on 48 out 82 roads and bridges schemes worth Rs 54,700 crore as part of PM's special package of 1.25 lakh crore for Bihar is in progress, Bihar's Road Construction Minister said today.
Work on remaining 34 schemes would begin by the end of the current fiscal, he said.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi jee had announced special package of Rs 1.25 lakh crore in 2015. Of this, Rs 54,700 crore has to be spent on total 82 various schemes of roads and bridges under the special package. Out of 82, work is currently on on 48 schemes while 10 other schemes are in the final stage of tendering and the DPR of remaining 24 schemes will be prepared by August at any cost," Yadav said.
"The PM's special package schemes will help in building a network of road infrastructure in the state in next two-three years. It would also help in realising the Bihar CM's vision of reaching Patna from different parts of the state within five hours," Yadav said.
Making it clear that out of 82 schemes worth Rs 54,700 crore, he said that the work on 24 schemes worth Rs 30,200 crore would be carried out by NHAI while 58 schemes worth Rs 24,500 crore would be NH division of state's Road Construction Department.
Yadav, who was talking to reporters on the schemes and projects sanctioned by the central government for construction of roads and bridges in past four years, was accompanied by party's state unit vice-president Devesh Kumar, former MLA Sanjay Singh Tiger, media-incharge Ashok Bhatt, Pankaj Singh on the occasion.
Stating that apart from existing four bridges on river Ganga, a total of 12 new bridges would come up on Ganga in next five years, the minister said that six new bridges would be built on Ganga under PM's special package while six other new bridges on Ganga to be built by the state government.
Six new bridges on Ganga under PM's package will be- Buxar-Balia, parallel to Digha-Sonepur, parallel to Mahatma Gandhi setu, parallel to Vikramshila bridge in Bhagalpur, Anta-Simariya (in Mokama) and Sahebganj Jharkhand)-Katihar, the minister said adding that after completion of all schemes, there will be 16 bridges on river Ganga including the existing four bridges.
The centre has also sanctioned Rs 1700 crore for changing the super structure of Mahatma Gandhi setu, he said.
Besides, two new bridges would be built on river Kosi and Sone, he added.
Yadav said that the Centre has identified and sanctioned 34 NH in Bihar whose length will be 1943 km with a 10 meter width.
Drawing a comparison between UPA and the current NDA government for releasing funds on the maintenance of NH in the state, Yadav said that Narendra Modi-led government gave Rs 4904 crore in four years against UPA's Rs 1932 crore on road maintenance during 2010-11 to 2013-14.
Similarly, NDA government sanctioned Rs 913 crore under Central Road Fund (CRF) while the UPA government sanctioned Rs 408 crore, he added.
In reply to a query as how much funds Bihar government has, so far, got out of Rs 54,700 crore meant for road construction under PM's special package, Yadav explained that the funds would not accrue to the state's coffers rather Central government would be paying money to the agency directly.
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