Funds cheer for new roads
2 min readPatna: The state cabinet on Tuesday approved the proposal to take over 71.25 acres of land of the Patna-Digha train line from the railways at a cost of Rs 222 crore to construct a four- or six-lane road.
The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday evening.
The project had been hanging fire since 2009 though the Patna-Digha railway line has been lying virtually defunct.
“The 71.25 acre land of Patna-Digha railway line will be transferred to the road construction department and the state government will give Rs 222 crore to the railways for it,” cabinet secretariat special secretary Upendra Nath Pandey said on Tuesday.
“A four- to six-lane road will be constructed on it to ease the pressure of vehicular traffic in the city.”
Government sources said that construction of the road is expected to begin in October after the monsoon season gets over.
The Telegraph had reported in its June 15 edition how the railway ministry agreeing to relinquish its land on which the 150-year-old line runs will spell major relief for residents and daily commuters in the state capital.
Previously, the railways had been demanding around Rs 900 crore for the land on the basis of valuation done in 2014-15, and was not ready to settle for less.
The present move is being seen as a benefit of the same National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the state and Centre.
The cabinet also gave its nod to a proposal by the road construction department to construct an eight-lane road between Danapur and Khagaul on the outskirts of Patna at an estimated cost of Rs 58 crore.
“This will be first eight-lane road in the state,” Pandey said.
“It will be 4.05km long. At present, a two-lane road exists there. Possibility of Metro railway alignment will also be there.”
Among the 22 decisions the cabinet took on Tuesday was to increase the diesel subsidy to farmers for irrigation to Rs 40 per litre from the existing Rs 35 per litre.
In another decision, approval was given to an investment proposal of Rs 33 crore by Calcutta-based Vishnu Bakers Private Limited to establish a potato chips and mixture plant at Chillim in Sherghati sub-division of Gaya district.
Courtesy: The Telegraph
