NHAI to use Bihar river silt for highway construction and flood control
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Bihar government signed an agreement to repurpose excavated silt for national highway projects.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the Bihar government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday, November 3, for the scientific desilting of water bodies. According to The Indian Express, the initiative aims to use excavated silt for national highway projects while improving the carrying capacity of rivers to prevent flooding.
The project, titled “Nadi Sanjivani, Nadi Punarjeevan, Sadak Navnirman,” targets rivers including the Ganga, Kosi, Gandak, Falgu, and Bagmati. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will lead dredging operations using scientific methods to address silt accumulation and material shortages for construction.
Under the MoU, 393 lakh cubic metres of free silt will be used for ongoing highway projects in Bihar, with plans to use approximately 1,050 lakh cubic metres in future projects. An NHAI official told The Indian Express that using free silt will help lower construction costs and reduce seasonal flood risks.
The NHAI is currently executing 39 projects spanning 1,561 km in Bihar at Rs 58,340 crore. The authority has also proposed 11 new projects covering 1,982 km with an estimated outlay of Rs 1,85,200 crore.
The model follows the ‘Buldhana Pattern’ used in Maharashtra. Under Vision 2047, the NHAI plans to construct 1,800 kilometres of expressways in Bihar, which could also utilise the desilted material if the initiative is successful.