By Shashi Bhushan
Copyright deccanchronicle
New Delhi:Days before the announcement of Bihar Assembly elections, the Centre on Wednesday approved rail and road projects worth over ₹6,000 crore. The Union Cabinet cleared construction of the four-lane Sahebganj-Areraj-Bettiah section of NH-139W at a capital cost of ₹3,822.31 crore and the doubling of the Bakhtiyarpur-Rajgir-Tilaiya single railway line at a cost of ₹2,192 crore.The Bihar Assembly polls are scheduled for November, and the Election Commission of India is expected to announce poll dates in the first week of October.Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the four-lane Sahebganj-Areraj-Bettiah section of NH-139W under Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM). The 78.94 km greenfield project, with a capital cost of ₹3,822.31 crore, aims to improve connectivity between Patna and Bettiah, linking the districts of Vaishali, Saran, Siwan, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran, and West Champaran up to the Indo-Nepal border.The project is expected to enhance long-distance freight movement, provide better access to agricultural zones and industrial areas, and facilitate cross-border trade. It will also connect seven PM Gati Shakti economic nodes, six social nodes, eight logistics nodes, and nine major tourism and religious centres, including Kesariya Buddha Stupa (Sahebganj), Someshwarnath Mandir (Areraj), Jain Mandir and Vishwa Shanti Stupa (Vaishali), and Mahavir Temple (Patna), thereby strengthening Bihar’s Buddhist circuit and international tourism potential.The NH-139W has been designed to ease congestion on existing routes and link NH-31, NH-722, NH-727, NH-27, and NH-227A. The new alignment will support average vehicular speeds of 80 km/h (design speed: 100 km/h), reducing travel time between Sahebganj and Bettiah from 2.5 hours to one hour. The project is expected to generate around 14.22 lakh man-days of direct employment and 17.69 lakh man-days of indirect employment, along with additional opportunities from increased economic activity.Vaishnaw added that the CCEA has also approved the doubling of the Bakhtiyarpur-Rajgir-Tilaiya single railway line (104 km) in Bihar at an estimated cost of ₹2,192 crore. Covering four districts, the project will expand the railway network by 104 km and provide connectivity to destinations such as Rajgir (Shanti Stupa), Nalanda, and Pawapuri, which attract pilgrims and tourists nationwide.The multi-tracking project will benefit about 13.46 lakh people across 1,434 villages, including two aspirational districts, Gaya and Nawada. It will also support freight movement of coal, cement, clinker, fly ash, and other commodities, handling an additional 26 MTPA (million tonnes per annum).Officials said the enhanced capacity will improve mobility, efficiency, and service reliability, easing congestion on one of Indian Railways’ busiest sections.“The projects are in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a New India, enabling the people of the region to become ‘Atmanirbhar’ by generating employment and self-employment opportunities and driving comprehensive development,” the government said.
