Bihar cabinet clears major Ganga road projects and model schools in every block

The cabinet also cleared the proposal for renaming the Sanjay Gandhi biological park in Patna as Patna Zoo

PATNA In a decisive push for infrastructure and education, the Bihar cabinet on Wednesday approved several ambitious road projects along the Ganga and greenlit plans to set up model schools in every block of the state.

Bihar Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain with Bihar chief minister Samrat Choudhary and others during Danveer Bhamashah Jayanti Samaroh in Patna on Wednesday. (Santosh Kumar/HT)

Chaired by chief minister Samrat Choudhary and attended by both deputy chief ministers Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav, the meeting saw the clearance of 63 proposals covering roads, education, power and public services.

The most striking announcements concerned new roads along the northern banks of the Ganga. The cabinet gave its nod to three key stretches that will form part of the proposed North Ganga Path and link up with the existing JP Ganga Path from Maner to Buxar.

Road construction department secretary Pankaj Pal said the government has approved a 56-km stretch from Bidupur to Dighwara, which will be developed as the Ganga Ambika Path. Another greenfield four-lane road measuring 73.51 km will come up from Darihara (Kochua) in Saran district to Dumariya Ghat in Gopalganj district and will be named Narayani Path. A third stretch of roughly 90 km between Buxar, Ara and Maner has been cleared under the name Viswamitra Path.

Apart from these, the cabinet also sanctioned a high-level bridge and approach roads over the Falgu river near Gahariya in Gaya district at an estimated cost of ₹113.85 crore. The bridge is expected to significantly improve connectivity to industrial zones and ease traffic congestion in the area.

Government officials believe these Ganga-side corridors will dramatically cut travel time between districts such as Saran, Vaishali and Bhojpur, boost tourism, encourage industrial investment and create jobs both during construction and after completion. They are also expected to take pressure off existing highways and strengthen regional connectivity.

In the education sector, the cabinet approved the “Unnat Shiksha – Ujjwal Bhavishya” scheme, under which one model school (Adarsh Vidyalaya) will be developed in each block. For the financial year 2026-27, ₹800 crore has been earmarked to upgrade selected high schools into centres of excellence equipped with modern science and computer laboratories, smart classrooms, libraries, sports facilities and proper amenities for girl students.

Education secretary Dinesh Kumar said these upgraded schools will follow a rigorous academic and co-curricular curriculum with clearly laid-down criteria for selecting teachers and students. The move is part of the government’s seven-point resolution for 2025-30 aimed at lifting the quality of government schools to national standards.

In a parallel decision, the cabinet cleared the opening of new degree colleges in 208 blocks that currently do not have one. This expansion is expected to create over 9,000 new posts and an initial funding of ₹104 crore has been released.

To keep electricity affordable, the cabinet approved a massive subsidy of ₹23,165 crore under the Mukhya Mantri Vidyut Upbhokta Sahayata Yojana for 2026-27. Of this, ₹18,005 crore will be paid directly to NTPC while ₹5,160 crore will go to the Bihar State Power Holding Company.

The cabinet also cleared several proposals related to the police department, including filling half of the 20,937 vacant sub-inspector posts through promotion and creating new traffic police positions in Patna and three other major cities.

The Public health engineering department received the go-ahead for maintenance of nearly 30,000 drinking water schemes and the introduction of an IoT-based monitoring system at a cost of ₹3,601 crore.

The cabinet also cleared the proposal for renaming the Sanjay Gandhi biological park in Patna as Patna Zoo.

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