The Union Government has approved 31 national highway projects for Bihar under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, India’s largest highway development programme. Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed Parliament that these projects aim to boost regional connectivity, ease logistics, and support economic growth across the state.
However, despite the ambitious scale, many of the sanctioned corridors are facing delays, raising concerns about project execution and completion timelines.
Key Corridors Sanctioned Across Bihar
According to the minister’s written reply in the Lok Sabha (4 December), the approved projects span several major districts, including:
- Kishanganj, Purnea, Patna, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj
- Rohtas, Samastipur, Aurangabad, Gaya
- Madhubani, Supaul and Sitamarhi
These projects include a mix of:
- New 4-lane highway corridors
- Major bypass construction
- Widening works
- Upgrades to economic corridors
- Flyovers and elevated structures
Delays Push Completion Timelines to 2025–2027
While some works are partially completed, a significant number of projects are lagging behind schedule.
The revised completion timelines now extend into:
- 2025
- 2026
- 2027
Notable delayed stretches include:
- Flyover construction in Kishanganj
- Widening of the Purnea–Araria and Maheshkuth–Madhepura corridors
- Expressway upgrades in Rohtas and Kaimur
- Highway improvements across Aurangabad, Gaya, Madhubani and Darbhanga
Reasons Behind the Delays
The ministry attributes the delays to several persistent challenges:
- Land acquisition hurdles
- Utility shifting complications
- Pending railway approvals
- Design revision and finalisation
- Slow contractor mobilisation
- Disruptions caused by COVID-19
- Flood-affected regions slowing progress
Bharatmala: India’s Biggest Highway Network Expansion
The Bharatmala Pariyojana is one of India’s most ambitious infrastructure programmes, aimed at reshaping national freight movement and reducing logistics costs.
Key network goals include:
- 26,000 km of Economic Corridors
- 8,000 km of Inter-Corridors
- 7,500 km of Feeder Routes
- Ring Roads and bypasses in 28 major cities
- 125 choke points and 66 congestion points targeted for improvement
- 35 Multimodal Logistics Parks to strengthen freight efficiency
Progress Under Bharatmala Phase-I
Under Phase-I, a total project length of 34,800 km has been planned.
As of September 2025:
- 796 projects have been awarded
- Covering 26,425 km
- 21,248 km have already been constructed
This marks significant national progress, although Bihar’s ongoing delays highlight the need for faster coordination between agencies.