The government, led by Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, has developed a new initiative to combat the annual devastating floods in Bihar. River silt, extracted from rivers, reservoirs, and dams, will now be used for building roads and constructing embankments.
An important agreement was signed in New Delhi between the Bihar government and the central government. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) took place in the presence of Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary and Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
This initiative will be implemented under the Bihar Water Resource and Silt Management Policy for 2026. According to the plan, silt accumulated in the state's rivers and reservoirs will be extracted using scientific methods. The government believes this will increase the water retention capacity of the rivers and help reduce the risk of flooding.
A key feature of the new policy is that the silt extracted from the rivers will not simply be discarded. Suitable soil and silt will be used for road construction, creating coastal protection structures, and repairing old dams. This will allow for the simultaneous cleaning of water sources and acceleration of infrastructure development.
According to the government, this system will ensure the availability of necessary material for construction projects, which may contribute to reduced construction costs and faster completion of work. Thus, silt removed from rivers will be utilized for developmental purposes.
A scientific procedure for extracting silt from Bihar's rivers, dams, and reservoirs will be organized to implement this scheme. This will be done through dredging, which will improve the potential of the water sources and pave the way for better water resource management.
The agreement between the Bihar government and the central government's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways was concluded in New Delhi for the practical implementation of the silt management policy. The event was attended by Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary and Minister Nitin Gadkari. Under this agreement, suitable silt extracted from Bihar's rivers through dredging can be used in national highway projects.
Minister Nitin Gadkari highly praised Bihar's silt management policy. This agreement is viewed as an important step towards simultaneously advancing flood control and infrastructure development in the state.
The government hopes that this measure will benefit farmers. Improved water resource management through river cleaning can help with this. Furthermore, using silt in construction will ensure a more effective use of natural resources.
It is important to note that flood control has long been a serious problem in Bihar. The annual rise in river levels negatively affects the lives of people in several districts of North Bihar, causing damage to housing, agriculture, and other property.
Thus, the new silt management policy, initiated by the Samrat Chaudhary government, is considered an important step toward reducing the threat of flooding. The government's goal is to improve the water retention capacity of rivers by removing silt and using the resulting material for development projects such as road construction, national highways, and dams.
