Central Government Reassigns National Highway Management and Execution Functions in Bihar

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a series of statutory notifications on November 26, 2025, to reorganize the management, execution, and entrustment of various National Highway stretches within the State of Bihar. These notifications, issued under the National Highways Act, 1956, and the National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988, redistributed responsibilities between the State Government of Bihar and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The primary instrument, S.O. 5435(E), amended a principal notification from 2005 to delegate the execution of works for a comprehensive list of highways to the state administration. This list included significant routes such as New National Highways No. 119, 219, 319A, and specific sections of NH-22 and NH-139, while excluding certain segments like the Narenpur-Purnea section of NH-131A.

The legislation provided: “the Central Government hereby directs that the functions in relation to the execution of works pertaining to each of the National Highways described in column (2) of the Table hereto annexed shall be exercisable by the State Government specified in column (3) of the Table against each highway subject to the condition that the State Government concerned shall in the exercise of such functions be bound to comply with the rules for the time being in force under the said Act”

Simultaneously, through S.O. 5436(E), the Central Government exercised its powers to entrust specific high-priority stretches to the NHAI. This included the entire length of the new Greenfield Expressway (NE9) starting from its junction with NH-22 near Hazipur and terminating at its junction with NH-27 near Purnia. The notification also covered segments of NH-22, NH-27, and NH-327, alongside the Korha to Bihar/West Bengal border section of NH-31 and the junction of NH-133 near Duldulia. To refine the existing statutory framework, S.O. 5437(E) omitted the Parsarma-Bangaon-Mahishi section of the NH-327 Extension from a previous 2022 notification. Finally, the government rescinded a May 2021 notification with immediate effect through S.O. 5438(E), effectively altering the prior legal position regarding highway administration in the region. These measures came into force immediately upon their publication in the Official Gazette.

The legislative intent behind these changes was to streamline the execution of road works (the physical construction and maintenance of highways) by clearly demarcating which authority holds jurisdiction over specific stretches. By substituting entries in the 2005 schedule, the government addressed statutory gaps that had emerged due to the notification of new highway numbers and the realignment of existing routes. The policy rationale focused on ensuring that the State Government of Bihar remains bound by federal rules while exercising delegated powers, thereby maintaining uniform standards across the national grid. These amendments introduced new obligations for the state authorities to manage diverse routes, ranging from the Gandhi Setu in Patna to various rural connectivity sections, while centralizing the management of major expressways and interstate corridors under the NHAI. The reorganization reflects a strategic shift to balance local administrative oversight with the specialized infrastructure capabilities of the national authority.

Keywords: National Highways Act 1956, NHAI Act 1988, Bihar Road Infrastructure, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, National Highway Authority of India, Statutory Notification, Highway Management Delegation

Geo Tags: India, Bihar
District: Not Applicable