Patna: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has approved the alignment of a greenfield expressway in Bihar between Mokama and Munger. The 85-km-long greenfield expressway will provide a seamless link between Buxar-Patna four-lane road and Munger-Mirzachowki (in Bhagalpur), which will enter West Bengal via Jharkhand.
Officials of the road construction department (RCD) said that once the entire stretch of road is complete, it would make the road travel from the west to eastern and southern parts of the state easier in the next few years.
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Currently, the east-west corridor (National Highway 27) is the only four-lane road that runs across the eastern to western parts of the state. NH 27 enters Bihar from East Champaran district and runs up to Purnia, before escaping in West Bengal.
As per the MoRTH notification issued in the central Gazette on February 4, the Mokama-Munger stretch of road will pass through parts of Patna, Lakhisarai and Munger. The district land acquisition officers (DLSOs) of the concerned districts have been asked to start acquisition of land in their respective jurisdictions. Land portions in three villages each of Ghoswari and Mokama taluk in Patna, 11 villages of Barahiya, four villages of Piparia, 26 villages of Suryagarha, 17 villages of Lakhisarai, and nine villages of Chanana takulas of Lakhisarai, and 14 villages of Jamalpur and two villages of Darhara taluks of Munger districts would be acquired for the project.
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According RCD officials Buxar-Patna four-lane road (120km) is under construction between Koilwar and Patna, while Patna-Bakhtiarpur four-lane road (52km) is in operation for the last one decade. Bakhtiyarpur-Mokama four-lane road (45km) is likely to be inaugurated next month. The process of land acquisition for the proposed Mokama-Munger expressway is set to commence this month, whereas Munger-Mirzachowki four-lane road (123 km) is also being built.
Deputy chief minister-cum-RCD minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said that Union MoRTH minister Nitin Gadkari was urged to facilitate approval of the greenfield alignment of NH33 between Mokama and Mirzachouki during his visit to Bodh Gaya in November last year. “A sum of ₹5,000 crore is likely to be spent on the expressway and the Central government has already made the budgetary provision of ₹4,000 crore in this Union Budget 2025,” said Sinha.
