Bihar to use river silt in highway construction under ‘Nadi Sanjeevani’ initiative

Patna: In a move aimed at combining river management with infrastructure development, the Bihar government has signed an agreement with the Centre to utilise silt extracted from rivers in the construction of national highways under the ‘Nadi Sanjeevani’ initiative.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in New Delhi on Tuesday in the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Under the agreement, approximately 83.5 million cubic metres of river silt will be utilised across 27 road projects in Bihar.

Of this, 24.3 million cubic metres will be made available free of cost for 16 ongoing national highway projects.

Gadkari shared details of the agreement on the social media platform X, stating that suitable silt extracted from rivers would be used in highway construction.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will be responsible for implementing the initiative and extracting the material through modern and scientific methods.

The initiative is expected to offer multiple benefits.

Removing accumulated silt from rivers could improve their water flow and water-retention capacity, while its utilisation in road construction would reduce dependence on natural soil and topsoil.

The use of locally available material is also expected to lower construction costs.

According to Gadkari, the initiative aims to convert river silt, which often contributes to flood-related challenges, into a resource for infrastructure development.

He also urged other states to consider adopting similar measures.

As per the information shared by the Union Minister, 39 NHAI projects are currently underway in Bihar, covering approximately 1,561 km at an estimated cost of Rs 58,340 crore.

In addition, 11 proposed road projects covering around 1,982 km have an estimated investment of Rs 1,85,200 crore.

The government also plans to explore the use of river silt in these projects.

Choudhary said silt had accumulated to depths of up to 10 metres in several rivers across Bihar, affecting water flow and their capacity to retain water.

He said the extracted material would now be put to productive use in construction projects, supporting infrastructure development across the state.

The ‘Nadi Sanjeevani’ initiative is intended to link river desilting with highway construction, with the stated objectives of improving river conditions, reducing construction costs and limiting the extraction of natural soil.

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