Patna, Nov. 20: The length of national highways in Bihar is set to cross the 4,000km mark soon, but the state wants adequate central funds for their maintenance.

The Centre has decided to upgrade 466.71km of state roads (see table) to national highways. State road construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav, however, said the Union government should ensure adequate flow of funds for the maintenance of the new roads.

Prior to the latest addition, the state had 3,734km of national highways. While 30km of these roads are major district roads, 34km are under the category of other district roads. The remaining, which would not carry the tag of national highway, are state highways.

“I appreciate the Centre’s decision, but it is way below our expectation. We have been demanding for more,” Yadav told The Telegraph.

The state government had sent a letter to the Centre in June last year, demanding addition of more roads to the list of national highways.

The letter had sought upgrade of 36 roads, measuring 2690.95km, to national highways.

The government had based its demands on the low density of national highways in the state.

Bihar is the third-most populous state in the country. But it is ranked 27 in the list of 35 states and Union territories as far as availability of national highways for every 1lakh people is concerned.

Against the national average of 6.86km for every 1lakh people, Bihar has a network of 4.4km.

Sources said the state gained significantly in terms of length of national highways between 1999 and 2004 when the Centre declared 2362.3km of new roads as national highways. Prior to 1999, the state had 1266.7km of national highways. From 2005 till the Centre’s latest decision, 105km were added.

Yadav also said: “The Centre should ensure sufficient flow of funds while making such announcements. Else the condition of roads would not improve.”

“It is well-known that the Centre has never provided adequate funds to the state for the proper upkeep of national highways. It has also declined to reimburse the state when the government took the initiative and maintained national highway using its own funds,” he added.

Sources said against a demand of Rs 3,337 crore between 2004-05 and 2010-11, the state got just Rs 1,082 crore from the Centre for maintenance of national highways passing through Bihar. As far as the current fiscal is concerned, the Centre has not yet released any fund.

On the other hand, construction work of a four-lane road on the 50-km stretch of National Highway 30 between Patna and Bakhtiyarpur got underway today.