KOLKATA — Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has sanctioned a ₹508.66 crore investment to upgrade crucial segments of NH-14 and NH-114 in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, aiming to streamline freight movement and enhance overall road safety.
The infrastructure initiative focuses on structural strengthening and selective lane widening across key transit corridors connecting rural towns to major regional commercial centers.
Project Scope & Corridor Details
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Total Sanctioned Outlay: ₹508.66 crore
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Corridor Breakdowns:
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NH-14: 91.90-km stretch extending from Bhimgarh to Nalhati via Mallarpur.
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NH-114: 56.40-km stretch running between Surul Village and Mallarpur.
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Engineering Focus: Pavement strengthening, capacity augmentation, and bottleneck elimination at major congestion points.
Key Strategic Benefits
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Logistics Optimization: Accelerates cargo movement and reduces travel time for commercial vehicles operating between agricultural hubs and trade centers in Birbhum.
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Enhanced Road Safety: Geometrical improvements and road widening aim to lower accident frequencies along heavily trafficked routes.
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Synergy with State Corridors: Integrates with larger ongoing infrastructure developments in West Bengal, including the Kharagpur–Moregram economic corridor.
Global Standards & Green Construction Vision
Addresssing the Asian Scenario on Infrastructural Development (ASID-26) conference in Nagpur, Minister Gadkari outlined key principles driving national highway development:
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International Frameworks: Called for an international code of conduct in the infrastructure sector to establish global benchmarks for quality, governance, and safety.
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Waste Utilization: Highlighted the adoption of sustainable construction practices, revealing that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has incorporated approximately 80 tonnes of municipal waste into highway construction projects to date.
