Patna: The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) on Wednesday gave its nod to start construction of a six-lane bridge over the Ganga, parallel to the Rajendra Setu in Mokama, for Rs 1,161 crore.

The nod came against the backdrop of a meeting between chief minister Nitish Kumar and Union minister for road transport and highway Nitin Gadkari on August 29, where state road construction department minister Nand Kishore Yadav was present.

The meeting was held in Delhi at Gadkari's 2 Motilal Nehru Place residence to discuss and review progress in various road and highway projects in Bihar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the six-lane bridge project on October 14, 2017 in the presence of Nitish.

"All the obstacles to construct the six-lane parallel bridge to Rajendra Setu in Mokama has been cleared and the work will start from tomorrow itself," Nand Kishore told The Telegraph on Wednesday.

"The exact day on which the nod was given by the NHAI is August 30, 2018. Earlier there was problem of the land criterion under which projects could not take off because 90 per cent land possession was mandatory. However, after the recent meeting the condition has come down to 70 per cent which is the main reason of the Centre giving its nod to start the project," he added.

Thye 90 per cent land in hand rule often delayed infrastructure projects in Bihar where there is immense pressure of population on land.

The total length of the six-lane bridge would be 1.865 km and along with the approach roads, the total length is 8.15 km.

The agency for the project has also been selected.

The bridge will start from Aunta in Mokama, around 96km east of Patna, and connect with Simaria in Begusarai district.

Asked about the benefits after the completion of the project, Nand Kishore said, "It would be a boon for the people of Bihar because the connectivity will become smoother. There is already a project going on to build make the road from Patna to Bakhtiyarpur to Mokama a four-lane road. This four-lane road will pass through this upcoming six-lane bridge up to Khagaria and then Purnea. The vehicles entering in Bihar from the south direction or from Jharkhand via Hazaribagh on NH 31 go towards the northeast via Rajauli, Bakhtiyarpur and Mokama. This six-lane bridge would play an important role in better connectivity."

He said once the bridge becomes functional, it will improve the connectivity for south Bihar because the present bridge is a rail-cum-road one that is facing problems.

The six-lane bridge would be completed in the next three years, Nand Kishore said.

The project, he added, is part of the Prime Minister's road package to Bihar and the state will ensure that it is completed on time while maintaining quality standards.