Nitish Kumar wants upgradation of Indo-Nepal border road into a four-lane highway

PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has expressed his desire to convert the entire 552.3 -KM length of Indo-Nepal border road in the state into a four-lane highway in view of its strategic significance for the border guarding forces. The border road is currently being developed as a two-lane highway with funding from both union and state governments.

After conducting an aerial inspection of the ongoing construction work of the border road in between Bhaptiyahi to Birpur in Supaul district on Thursday, Nitish asked the state’s road construction department’s (RCD) principal secretary Amrit Lal Meena to write a letter to the Centre and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), requesting them to provide additional financial assistance to convert its entire stretch in Bihar into a four-lane highway.

The Centre is providing Rs 1,702 to meet entire cost of the road construction, while the state government is providing Rs 2,233.19 crore for land acquisition and another Rs 983.81 crore for construction of 121 major and small bridges. In Bihar, the border road begins from Madanpur in West Champaran district on UP-Bihar border to Galgalia in Kishanganj district on the Bihar-West Bengal border.

Confirming the CM’s wish, Meena revealed to TOI on Friday that an average 45-metre width land has been acquired by the state government in entire length of 552.3 km. As per the standard norms, land having width of 30 to 45 metre is ideal for developing a four-lane highway.

“After aerial inspection of the ongoing road construction work and availability of the acquired land, the CM inquired from us as to why the road could not be developed into a four-lane highway,” Meena said.

He said the RCD has already written a letter to the NHAI requesting it to examine feasibility of developing the border road into a four-lane highway. “Now, since our chief minister has stressed for converting it into a four-lane highway, the RCD will soon send a fresh letter to the Centre and the NHAI asking them to take necessary decision in this regrd,” Meena said.

He said the strategic significance of this border road could be gauged from the fact that entire length of 552.3 km runs at the distance of just 0 to 5 km along the international border of Nepal.

“Altogether 141 out-posts of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) will be linked to this road which is being developed by the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide facilities to ensure better mobility of the border guarding forces,” a government official said.

Meena said at the request of Bihar government, the centre has already extended the deadline for completion of the boarder road to March, 2022.

The then union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had laid foundation stones for the two-lane border road at a function at Supaul on June 25, 2013 in the presence of CM Nitish Kumar.