Nitin Gadkari blames Bihar for delay in highway projects

PATNA: Union minister of transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday again blamed the Nitish Kumar government of Bihar for delay in acquisition of lands for road projects in the state.

Replying to a question raised by RJD’s Banka MP Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav on the delay in execution of a national highway (NH) project in Banka-Jamui areas, Gadkari said there were several such projects in Bihar. “They involve acquisition of agricultural land which is costlier for acquisition than other categories of land. Besides, getting environment and forests clearance is a time-taking process. We cannot start work on NH projects unless 80% of the required land is acquired,” Gadkari said.

The minister simultaneously hailed “many other states” for doing pretty well in terms of land acquisition for NH projects. “You ask your district collector to acquire land and we will ensure the project is executed in time,” Gadkari told Yadav.

In Patna, Bihar road construction minister Nand Kishor Yadav admitted land acquisition was a challenge in the state. He, however, said the stipulation of 80% land acquisition in advance for NH projects was a major “deterrent”.

“The population density per kilometre is quite high in Bihar which has mostly agriculture land. People also do not easily give up their land... Yet the state government is trying its best to acquire land for different projects and its monitoring is also done on monthly basis,” Nand Kishor told TOI.

Incidentally, this is for the second time that Gadkari has blamed the Nitish government for delay in NH projects. On June 15, he told reporters in Delhi that he there were projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore for Bihar but acquiring land was quite difficult in the state.

The Nitish government had come out with a statement the next day, claiming only four projects sanctioned under the PM Narendra Modi’s special package were delayed owing to land acquisition issues.