Patna: Revenue and land reforms department has started preparations for land acquisition across six districts — Vaishali, Samastipur, Darbhanga, Saharsa, Madhepura and Purnia — for the Patna-Purnia Greenfield Expressway project after receiving necessary clearances. Landowners will be compensated at market rates to ensure smooth acquisition and avoid potential disputes.Revenue and land reforms department’s additional chief secretary Deepak Kumar Singh has written to all six district magistrates (DMs), instructing them to proceed with preliminary notifications after obtaining approval from the Central Valuation Committee. The directive came following a high-level meeting chaired by chief secretary Amrit Lal Meena recently, according to the officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).An NHAI official said Singh, in his letter to the DMs, told them to conduct a revised valuation of land based on the prevailing market price in the area, as per Section 26 (3) of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, before initiating the process. “In this context, prohibition, excise and registration department has been granted the authority for special revision of MVR (minimum value registered) under Sub-rule 7 of the Bihar Stamp (Amendment) Rules, 2013, in light of the notification,” said the official.He added the 90m-wide greenfield expressway will be built with an estimated cost of Rs 18,042 crore till Chandbhatti village on Purnia-Kishanganj NH-27. The Patna-Purnia expressway will also intersect with Amas-Darbhanga road in Vaishali and connect with Patna Ring Road at Dighwara.“A total of 21 big and 140 small bridges, 11 ROBs, 21 interchanges and 322 underpasses will be built under the project. At the request of the state govt, spurs will be constructed to connect the cities of Samastipur, Saharsa and Madhepura to this project. The designated speed limit on this route will be 120km per hour. The state govt has appointed a competent authority for land acquisition,” the official said.The project will also provide connectivity to Bihta Airport through a bridge between Dighwara and Sherpur, and eventually link to Darbhanga and Purnia airports. Once completed, the expressway will reduce travel time between Patna and Purnia by half from at least seven hours to three-four hours.
