Patna: The Bihar budget of Rs 1.77 lakh crore for 2018-19, tabled by deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi in the legislative Assembly on Tuesday, contains a large number of development schemes that will be either completed or started during the forthcoming financial year.

Modi said the focus of the government programmes was on ensuring holistic development of the state, emphasising on every sector as per their requirements, be it agriculture, basic infrastructure, education, energy, health, tourism or any other.

The state will get six new bridges that are vital for better road connectivity. These will also help achieve the government's target to ensure that people from any corner of the state reach Patna in five hours.

These bridges include one that will connect Chakia-Kesaria, being built across the Gandak river in East Champaran at a cost of Rs 263 crore. Another one known as Bangra Ghat bridge will connect Muzaffarpur and Saran districts spanning across the Budhi Gandak river at a cost of Rs 509 crore, while the approach road for the Dhanha-Ratwal Ghat bridge in West Champaran will be completed at a cost of Rs 125 crore.

"The bridges will be completed between June and December 2018. Apart from these, Ara-Chapra bridge across the Ganga at a cost of Rs 676 crore, Daudnagar (Aurangabad)-Nasriganj (Rohtas) bridge over the Sone river for Rs 1,007 crore and the Baluaha Ghat bridge over the Kosi river in Saharsa at a cost of Rs 404 crore will be completed by June 2018," Sushil said.

Bihar has electrified 84,359 habitations out of a total of 1,06,249 in the state and electrification work for the rest will be completed by the end of April. Work is continuing on providing electricity connection to all families in the state is also under progress.

Three private universities - Amity University (Patna), Sandeep University (Sijoul, Madhubani) and KK University (Biharsharif, Nalanda) will be established in the forthcoming financial year. Notifications for them have already been issued.

Two more private universities - Al-Karim University in Katihar and Gopal Narayan University at Sasaram are in the offing, while nod has been given for establishing CV Raman University at Bhagwanpur in Vaishali.

Modi added that academic session at the three new government universities at Purnea, Munger and Patliputra will start soon.

The budget also announced that colleges for agriculture engineering, and community science or food technology colleges will be established at Gaya, while an agro business management college at Patna and one bio-technology college at Ara (Bhojpur) district will also be established.

Three new Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and a national-level "farm machinery testing and training institute" will be established at Pusa in Samastipur. Work is also in progress to set up an organic corridor along the Ganga from Patna to Bhagalpur.

Equipment at all government medical colleges and hospitals will be audited and all of them will be provided CT scan and MRI machines. Combined Treatment Plants will be established at all of them so they can be developed as 'zero-discharge campus' with the help of central laundry, central sterile and supply department, as well as, sewage and effluent treatment plants.

The budget also says that four new "continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations" will be established in Patna.