Patna, Feb. 6: With the Centre firm on its stand to widen just four stretches under the third phase of National Highway Development Project (NHDP) in Bihar, the state government has decided to use its own funds to widen four more stretches of national highways (NHs).

The stretches of highways between Mohania-Ara, Aurangabad-Bihta, Bakhtiyarpur-Rajauli and Munger-Bhagalpur would be made four-lanes using the state funds.

“Our repeated requests to the Centre to take up all the stretches selected for four-lane conversion under NHDP-III fell on deaf ears. Hence, the state government has decided to take up widening of four stretches of NHs on its own cost keeping the future requirements in mind,” road construction department minister Nand Kishore Yadav told The Telegraph.

In the original plan of NHDP-III, the Centre had decided to convert Buxar-Ara-Patna-Bakhtiyarpur, Barh-Mokama-Munger, Mokama-Begusarai-Khagaria-Purnea, Jogbani-Forbesganj, Patna-Dobhi, Patna-Hajipur-Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi-Sonbarsa, Hajipur-Chhapra-SiwanGopalganj and Piprakothi-Raxaul stretches of NHs into four-lane roads. The Centre, however, revised its plan midway and decided that only four stretches — Patna-Bakhtiyarpur, Patna-Muzaffarpur, Hajipur-Chhapra and Ara-Patna would be converted into four-lane roads.

“We tried to convince the central government that keeping the future requirements of the state in mind all these roads should be widened but the Centre went ahead with its own logic that four-laning of all roads was not viable. It insisted work would be taken up in accordance with the revised plan only,” Yadav said.

The Bihar government has also decided to write a letter to the Centre urging it to notify more NHs in Bihar to bring the NH network in the state on a par with the national average. Against the national average of 6.86km of NH for every one lakh population, Bihar has a network of 4.4km of NH for the same populace. The state stands 27th in the list of 35 states and union territories as far as availability of NHs for every one lakh population is concerned.

Bihar, at present, has 3,642km of NH. The state is pressing for notification of 2,800km additional roads as NHs.

“We made similar request to the Centre in the past as well and our fresh letter to the Union government will highlight this point again,” said the road construction department minister.

Yadav said the Bihar government also wants the Centre to address the issue of non-payment of funds the state government spent from its own coffers for the maintenance of the existing NHs.

“We have spent over Rs 900 crore between 2006-07 and the current fiscal (2010-11) for upkeep of the existing NHs, but the Centre is not reimbursing the funds without giving any convincing reason. The Bihar government will not remain silent on this issue and will keep on raising it till the reimbursement is done,” added the minister.