Bihar to use river silt for National Highway construction
The Bihar government and the road ministry signed an agreement to desilt water bodies to manage floods and build roads.
The Bihar government has launched the Bihar Water Resources Restoration and Silt Management Policy 2026 to address silt accumulation in rivers and reduce flood risks. According to India Today, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the state government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in New Delhi to use extracted silt for infrastructure projects.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. The initiative, envisioned as ‘Nadi Sanjivani’, aims to restore the water-carrying capacity of water bodies while providing material for highway works.
The NHAI requires about 243 lakh cubic metres of silt for current and proposed National Highway projects in Bihar. The state currently has 39 ongoing highway projects covering 1,561 km with an estimated cost of Rs 58,340 crore, while 11 proposed projects covering 1,982 km involve an estimated investment of Rs 1,85,200 crore.
Minister Gadkari said that accumulated silt has affected the carrying capacity of rivers, contributing to floods and damage to agricultural land. He stated that scientific desilting would improve water flow and drainage while making material available for construction.
The state's Road Construction Department (RCD) will act as the nodal agency. The agreement includes safeguards to ensure desilting does not damage riverbanks, bridges, or the ecological balance, with extraction allowed only at approved locations.