PATNA, Oct. 17 -- The Central ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) on Friday cleared projects worth Rs.1,64,518 crore spanning 2,424 kilometres under the annual work plan for Bihar during the current fiscal, officials said. According to a press communique issued here by the road construction department (RCD) on Friday, the projects were cleared at a high-level meeting chaired by MoRTH secretary V Umashankar in New Delhi on Thursday. The projects envisage widening, strengthening, building of new bypasses, four-laning and railway overbridges across the state's national highway network. Senior officers of the RCD including its secretary Pankaj Kumar Pal participated in the meeting. The road package represents one of the largest single-year highway clearances for the state in recent years. "This apparently hinted at the Central government's sustained focus on plugging the state's long-standing connectivity gaps," said the officer. The NHAI's bid to expand its road network also got the MoRTH push with as many as 14 larger projects totalling about 1,685 kilometres and Rs.1,39,578 crore were cleared at the meeting. These include high-impact corridors such as Gorakhpur-Kishanganj-Siliguri, Raxaul-Haldia, Buxar-Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur-Barauni, Chhapra-Rewaghat-Muzaffarpur and the Patna northern ring road. "Earlier the Central government had approved the alignments for these roads. Now the fund allocations have been made, paving the way for engaging the construction firms," said a senior engineer of the RCD. "Besides the NH projects, the MoRTH also gave its go-ahead to 18 RCD NH wing projects covering approximately 739 kilometres at an estimated cost of Rs.24,940 crore. These include widening and strengthening of NH-333A, Darbhanga-Jaynagar national highway, Bariarpur-Bishanpur and Sitamarhi-Chiraout stretches, along with several four-lane corridors and bypasses," the press release said. The Centre also cleared key bypass projects including those of the northern and southern Jaynagar bypasses with a new bridge over the Kamla river, Samastipur bypass, Singheshwar and Madhepura bypasses and the Dumraon road bypass. Besides, approach roads to Vikramshila setu, the Masrakh-Chakia-Bhitha Mod road, Chapwa-Bettiah road and the four-laning of the Naubatpur-Arwal-Aurangabad-Hariharpur stretch have also be given the Centre's nod. Officials said that several railway overbridges on NH-120 and NH-727 also form part of the package. Speaking after the meeting, RCD secretary Pal said the inclusion of these projects in the MoRTH budget would give an impetus to Bihar's economic growth. "These ambitious projects, once implemented, will give boost to the industrial activities and make travel not only safer but also more convenient for the people," he said. "Improvement in road network would facilitate quicker movement of people and goods and smoothen connectivity between major cities and economic hubs," added the secretary "The magnitude of this year's package is significant. The new projects if completed will provide a smooth and convenient passes to Nepal, connect important districts to eastern ports via Haldia and aim to decongest growing urban centres such as Patna, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga," said Pal....