The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the Bihar government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for scientifically desilting water bodies and using suitable excavated silt in national highway projects. The initiative, named Nadi Sanjivani, Nadi Punarjeevan, Sadak Navnirman, is intended to address silt accumulation, seasonal flooding and the shortage of construction materials in the state.

Rivers including the Ganga, Kosi, Gandak, Falgu and Bagmati carry substantial silt through Bihar. The accumulation reduces their water-carrying capacity and complicates water management, while the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has faced delays and higher costs because soil and ballast often have to be transported from distant locations.

Under the agreement, 39.3 mn cubic metres of silt will be made available at no cost for ongoing highway projects. A further 105 mn cubic metres is planned for future projects. The NHAI will lead dredging using scientific methods, with the material being used for earthwork, embankments and subgrade construction.

The NHAI is executing 39 projects covering 1,561 km in Bihar, with an investment of Rs. 583.4 bn. It has also proposed 11 projects covering 1,982 km at an estimated cost of Rs. 1.85 tn. The programme will cover waterways linked to projects including Manikpur-Sahebganj, Munger-Mirzachauki, the Bhagalpur Bypass-Rasulpur route and the Varanasi-Ranchi-Kolkata corridor.

The plan draws on Maharashtra’s Buldhana Pattern, under which excavated soil was used in highway construction while ponds and water bodies were widened and deepened. That initiative used 22.5 mn cubic metres of soil and increased water storage capacity by 22.5 mn cubic metres without cost to the state government. Bihar has also planned 1,800 km of expressways under Vision 2047, and successful desilting could support their construction.