Bihar pre-poll bonanza: Cabinet clears 4-lane highway, doubling of 104-km railway section

In a gift for poll-bound Bihar, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the construction of the four-lane Sahebganj-Areraj-Bettiah section of the NH-139W on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM). The 78.942-km-long project is estimated to cost Rs 3,822.31 crore.

The proposed project will improve connectivity between Patna and Bettiah, and link the North Bihar districts of Vaishali, Saran, Siwan, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran and West Champaran up to the areas along the Indo-Nepal border.

The project will support the movement of long-distance freight traffic, improve access to key infrastructure and facilitate regional economic development by improving connectivity to agricultural zones, industrial areas and cross-border trade routes.

The Cabinet has also approved the doubling of 104-km Bakhtiyarpur-Rajgir-Tilaiya single railway line section at a cost of Rs 2,192 crore. The project covering four districts in Bihar will increase the existing network of the Indian Railways by about 104 km.

It will also provide rail connectivity to prominent religious tourist destinations such as Rajgir (Shanti Stupa), Nalanda and Pawapuri, attracting pilgrims and tourists from across the country.

This is an essential route for transportation of commodities such as coal, cement, clinker and fly ash. Benefitting around 13.46 lakh people, these projects will enhance connectivity to two aspirational districts of Gaya and Nawada and approximately 1,434 villages.

Additionally, the Cabinet has announced an approved payment of Rs 1,865.68-crore productivity-linked bonus (PLB) of 78 days to 10,91,146 railway employees.

The PLB payment to eligible railway employees is made each year before the Durga Puja/Dasehra holidays. This year, PLB amount equivalent to 78 days’ wages is being paid to about 10.91 lakh non-gazetted railway employees. Last year, the PLB amounted to Rs 2,028.57 crore to 11,72,240 railway employees.

The payment of PLB acts as an incentive to motivate railway employees for working towards improvement in the performance of the railways, read an official statement.

“The maximum payable amount of PLB equivalent to 78 days’ wages for each eligible railway employee is Rs 17,951,” official sources said.

The above amount will be paid to various categories of railway staff like track maintainers, loco pilots, train managers (guard), station masters, supervisors, technicians, technician helpers, pointsman, ministerial staff and other Group ‘C’ staff,” the statement added.