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• Last week, while inaugurating the Kosi Mahasetu, a 1.8-km bridge linking Supaul to Darbhanga, Union minister for Road Transport and Highways C.P. Joshi created quite a flutter in political circles when he showered Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with effusive praise."Very few men can achieve what they dream in life. Nitish Kumar is surely one of them. I am happy because Bihar is progressing under him," Joshi said much to the chagrin of Bihar Congress leaders.
• The occasion might have spurred Joshi to be magnanimous with his political opponent. The Rs.418-crore 1.878 km long and 20.76m wide Kosi bridge, has now connected the two parts of the Greater Mithila that was separated by the turbulent Kosi River.Since the collapse of the imperial-era bridgehead in an earthquake in 1934, people from the two neighbouring districts of Madhubani and Supaul had to travel up into Nepal and then back down to reach the other district. Thanks to the bridge one can now travel from Madhubani to Supaul in less than two hours instead of the earlier eight to ten.
• The momentary on-stage bonhomie between Joshi and Nitish Kumar, who are at two ends of the political spectrum, however, has not ironed out Bihar's differences with the Centre over the status of National Highways in the state.Apparently aware that the improved roads are providing Bihar's NDA government a huge political mileage, the Centre has left the national highways -- Bihar has the ninth longest network of national highways in the country -- in bad shape and full of potholes.
• Bihar wants the Centre to take care of the "dilapidated" National Highways that pass through the State. If it cannot, Bihar has asked the Centre to give up officially and let the state government take over these roads, too."The condition of most of the stretches of the national highways in Bihar is becoming unmotorable and some national highways like NH-101 and 103 are in a dilapidated condition causing immense misery to the transporters and common man alike," Bihar Road Construction Department Secretary Pratyaya Amrit had said in a recent letter to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• Though the two national highways quoted in the Road Construction Department's Secretary's letter are small stretches, they are crucial in terms of connecting important locations in Bihar. NH 101 is a 60-km stretch that links Chhapra to Mohammadpur in Gopalganj district, while NH-103 is 55-km highway linking Hajipur to Mushrigharai in Samastipur.Incidentally, the improved roads are the most visible indicator of Bihar's turnaround story under the Nitish Kumar government. Beginning 2006-07, the State Road Construction Department has built 13,322.80 kms of roads in Bihar. In November 2010, when Nitish returned with a landslide electoral victory, improved roads were largely believed to be one of the reasons that made people endorse the NDA government.
• But, there are some broken jewels in Bihar's crown -- the national highways.The Road Construction Department's Secretary has, therefore, registered Bihar's intent to maintain these roads using the state government's resources. In his letter, Amrit has requested that "The National Highways be de-notified to enable the state government go ahead with suitable measures for their upkeep and upgradation."Though the suggestion to take over the National Highways in Bihar is unprecedented, it clearly reflects the level of frustration that Bihar is now grappling with over the non-maintenance of the National Highways in the state.Of the total length of 70,934 kms of national highways, Bihar has the ninth longest network of national highways in the country with 3,642 kms in its territory.
• The poor condition of certain stretches of the national highways has cast a shadow on Nitish Kumar's dream of ensuring that people reach the state capital in six hours from any part of Bihar. In fact, the poor condition of the national highways in Bihar today appears to be a grim case study of how all the roads in Bihar once looked. As things stand now, around 1,000 km of national highways passing through Bihar require urgent repairs to keep them motorable.The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) admits that though the national highway constitutes only about 2% of the road network, it carries about 40% of the total road traffic. The traffic load on the National Highways-which are strategically located-is constantly on the rise. According to NHAI, the number of vehicles has been growing at an average pace of 10.6% per annum over the last five years.
• Bihar's demand to denotify the national highways in the state and taking over these stretches is being seen as an informed decision. The Centre has already refused to reimburse the state more than Rs.1,000 crore which Bihar unilaterally spent on the maintenance of the national highways in the last few years.Bihar had to spend the amount to repair and maintain the national highways in the state because its poor stretches were causing a huge connectivity problem and the Centre was paying no heed to it. State funds were used to rebuild 1,951.51 kms of national highways running across Bihar. The Centre, however, has refused to reimburse Bihar the Rs.1,000 crore, arguing that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways cannot reimburse the state for the work not commissioned by it.In fact, even Chief Minister Nitish Kumar communicated it to the Prime Minister, but it has not settled the issue between the two governments. Once bitten, twice shy; Bihar is now seeking prior approval from the Centre before spending the state funds on the national highways.

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