Patna – A critical infrastructure project intended to ease chronic congestion on the Chausa-Buxar stretch of National Highway 319A has been mired in delays more than a year after the Union government sanctioned approximately ₹1,060 crore for its development as a greenfield four-lane bypass.
The 40-odd kilometre package, designated as NH-319A Package-2, forms part of the broader effort to integrate Bihar’s road network with the Purvanchal Expressway and the upcoming Varanasi-Buxar greenfield corridor. Once completed, the bypass is expected to divert heavy through-traffic away from the densely populated existing alignment, substantially reducing travel time and logistics costs for goods moving between eastern Uttar Pradesh and southern Bihar.
However, ground-breaking has yet to commence. Officials and local stakeholders attribute the hold-up primarily to protracted land-acquisition procedures. Despite multiple special camps organised by the district administration to expedite claims verification and compensation disbursement, disputes over valuation, documentation discrepancies, and objections from affected landowners continue to stall progress.
The existing two-lane carriageway, which threads through several towns and villages, has become a choke point for commercial vehicles, routinely causing delays of several hours. Traders in Buxar report rising transport costs and supply-chain disruptions, effects ultimately passed on to consumers. Commuters, including schoolchildren and patients seeking medical attention in Patna or Varanasi, remain particularly vulnerable to the resulting gridlock.
District authorities have declared the project a priority in recent review meetings and instructed the revenue and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) teams to resolve pending cases on a time-bound basis. Sources indicate that once site clearance is achieved and possession handed over to the appointed concessionaire, physical construction could begin within weeks.
The episode underscores persistent challenges in executing large-scale linear infrastructure projects in densely inhabited rural belts of India, where land remains both an economic asset and an emotive issue. Until the acquisition bottleneck is cleared, the promised economic impetus from enhanced connectivity in one of Bihar’s strategically located districts will remain on hold.
