NEW DELHI: Call it the Centre’s “development” icing on the state govt’s populism cake ahead of the Bihar assembly election, the Union cabinet on Wednesday approved two major infrastructure projects, marking the NDA’s “double-engine” thrust in the poll-bound state. The highway and railway projects will entail an investment of Rs 6,000 crore.
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnav said the four-lane greenfield highway project from Sahebganj to Bettiah (79 km), costing Rs 3,822 crore, will improve connectivity between Patna and Bettiah, linking north Bihar districts of Vaishali, Saran, Siwan, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran and West Champaran up to areas along the India-Nepal border.Immediately afterwards, PM Narendra Modi said the project marked NDA govt’s commitment to improve road connectivity in Bihar and and will result in job creation and new business opportunities while strengthening the farm sector.The Sahebganj to Bettiah project is the last leg of the 164 km new highway corridor from Bakarpur (near Patna) to Bettiah. While construction has started on its first package, work has been bid out for the second. “The third, approved on Wednesday, will be bid out soon. In the next three years there will be new connectivity between Bakarpur and Bettiah,” a road ministry official said.Sharing details of doubling of the 104-km Bakhtiyarpur-Rajgir-Tilaiya railway line, costing around Rs 2,192 crore, Vaishnaw said it will cover four districts and improve connectivity to prominent destinations, such as Rajgir (Shanti Stupa), Nalanda and Pawapuri, attracting pilgrims and tourists. This is also an essential route for transportation of commodities such as coal, cement, clinker and fly ash.On X, Modi said the Centre focuses on expanding road connectivity for all-round development in the state. In the past few weeks, the Centre has approved nearly half a dozen important projects related to Bihar.Significantly, while the Centre has expedited infrastructure projects, the NDA govt led by Nitish Kumar in Bihar has taken populist decisions just ahead of the poll slated to be held in Nov. Recently, the state govt announced an increase in the monthly pension for senior citizens, widows, and persons with disabilities from Rs 400 to Rs 1,100, and free 125 units of power every month to all consumers irrespective of their income. Then a monthly unemployment allowance of Rs 1,000 was also announced for graduates and individuals who have completed class 12 but remain unemployed.The Nitish govt has also rolled out the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana that offers Rs 10,000 to each woman entrepreneur in the first instalment, with an additional Rs 2 lakh provided after assessing the viability of their business initiatives. The drive to have over 10,000 ‘Vikas Mitras’, who work in villages to make SC and ST people aware of govt schemes and convert them to beneficiaries, has also been announced. They will get a one-time allowance of Rs 25,000 each for purchasing computer tablets so that they can work effectively.
