Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan on June 3, 2026 welcomed the Union Cabinet's approval for upgrading the Khagaria-Purnia section of NH-31 and NH-231 in Bihar to four lanes, calling it a decisive push for connectivity in the state's eastern belt. Posting on X, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief pegged the project cost at Rs 3,936 crore and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership for the clearance.

'Under the leadership of respected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, the Union Cabinet has approved the upgradation of the Khagaria-Purnia section (NH-31 and NH-231) in Bihar to four lanes,' Paswan wrote, translated from Hindi. He added that the project would 'strengthen connectivity, road safety and logistics capacity in the region, boost trade and reduce travel time', describing it as a major step towards the resolve of 'Viksit Bharat, Viksit Bihar' (Developed India, Developed Bihar).

Context

The Khagaria-Purnia corridor runs across north-eastern Bihar, linking the Kosi and Seemanchal regions with the rest of the state and onward to West Bengal and the North East. Both NH-31 and NH-231 have long been flagged as congestion-prone stretches with mixed two-lane and intermediate-lane configurations.

Paswan, who represents Hajipur in the Lok Sabha and heads the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), has frequently spotlighted central infrastructure decisions affecting Bihar. The Khagaria-Purnia clearance is the latest in a series of highway widening announcements he has flagged for his home state.

Policy backdrop

The four-laning of national highways in Bihar fits within the centre's broader corridor-upgradation push that began with the Bharatmala Pariyojana, cleared by the Union Cabinet in 2017 to develop about 34,800 km of highways nationally. Several Bihar stretches were folded into that programme, with subsequent cabinet approvals in 2021 and 2022 clearing additional four-lane segments.

Sections of NH-31 and adjoining corridors in Bihar that had earlier been widened were inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi in 2023. The new Khagaria-Purnia approval extends that lineage and aligns with the PM Gati Shakti framework, which seeks to lower logistics costs and integrate multi-modal infrastructure planning.

Stakeholders and impact

The immediate beneficiaries are residents and traders across Khagaria, Saharsa, Madhepura, Purnia and adjoining districts, where freight movement currently competes with mixed local traffic on narrower carriageways. A four-lane upgrade is expected to cut transit times for trucks heading from Bihar's agricultural belt to markets in eastern India.

Logistics operators stand to gain from improved turnaround, while the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will execute the project under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. For Paswan's party, which draws much of its support from Bihar's Dalit and backward-class voters, the announcement also offers political mileage ahead of state-level electoral cycles.

What's next

Attention now shifts to the tendering schedule by NHAI, land acquisition along the alignment and the appointment of construction concessionaires. Cost or timeline revisions, if any, will surface in subsequent ministry updates and Union Budget allocations.

For Bihar, the Khagaria-Purnia approval signals continued central capital commitment to closing the eastern infrastructure gap, with execution speed set to determine whether the stated gains in travel time and trade actually materialise on the ground.