Patna, Nov. 4: State Congress president Ashok Choudhary today said the state government might lose Rs 5,500 crore to construct 7,000km of rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) because of its failure to send a proposal in this regard.

“This would be the last biggest proposal from Bihar government to construct roads under the PMGSY,” Jairam Ramesh said in a letter written to chief minister Nitish Kumar on October 29. Ramesh stated in his letter that he expected to receive the proposal along with a detailed project report (DPR) by the middle of November. “If that happens, we would ensure that it’s cleared by the end of December.

State Congress spokesman Vinod Sharma said Ramesh had to request Nitish because of sheer negligence of state government officials in sending the proposal.

One of the assistants to rural works minister Bhim Singh said: “He is unwell as his sugar level is down. He cannot talk today.”

Choudhary said: “This shows that Sonia Gandhi-led UPA government’s commitment towards the state for its all-round development.” The Centre sanctioned Rs 3,968 crore to construct 5,517km of rural roads for this fiscal.