Improved road connectivity in Bihar, a major reason behind the Nitish Kumar-led government’s return to power for a second term with a thumping majority two years ago, is now set to penetrate deeper to link small villages with the nearby urban centres.
As part of its efforts to build up basic infrastructure in the backward state, the JD(U)-BJP government has drawn up plans to connect each village having a population of 250 with all-weather roads in the next five years. This mega road scheme, announced by Kumar as he presented his government’s “report card” for its seventh year in power on Saturday, aims at boosting Bihar’s rural economy by facilitating transport of rural produce to the markets.
Christened Mukhya Mantri Gram Sampark Yojna, the ambitious scheme will link all the 1.41 lakh habitats in Bihar through a road network of 34,116 km by 2017-18.
The scheme, to be launched this fiscal by the rural works department, would cost `25,881 crore, said Mr Kumar. Roads left out in the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sarak Yojna would also be taken up in this new project, he added.
“This new project will accelerate the vibrant socio-economic development already taking place in Bihar. By providing villages dependable links with towns, we will ensure that the village economy grows as per its high potentials,” said Kumar.
In Bihar, a stretch of 35 km roads is being built every day, said Mr Kumar. “It is now possible to reach state capital Patna from any part of the state, barring Kishanganj, in just six hours, thanks to our relentless efforts to improve road and bridge connectivity despite severe resource scarcities,” he said.
In the first five years, Mr Nitish Kumar’s government built over 23,000 km roads and raised the total good-quality road length in the state from a mere 384.6 km in 2005, when he took over, to 23,990 km in 2010, when he was re-elected.