Patna, Mar 7 (PTI) The target to reduce the travel time to state capital Patna to less than five hours from any part of Bihar will be achieved by the end of this year, Road Construction Minister Nitin Nabin said on Friday.

Concluding the debate on the budget of the Road Construction Department in the assembly, Nabin said the construction of several road projects in the state is on the verge of completion.

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"The department will achieve the target of reducing the travel time to Patna to five hours from any remote part of the state by the end of this year. The target has been given by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The construction of several road projects is on the verge of completion. The travel time from Patna to remote parts of the state will be further reduced to four hours," he said.

The House later passed the Rs 6,806.53-crore budget for the department for the next fiscal.

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Nabin said construction was underway for elevated roads, railway over-bridges, bypasses and greenfield roads across the state.

"The CM during his recently-concluded Pragati Yatra announced 137 projects, worth Rs 23,375 crore, related to the construction of roads and bridges. The state government under the leadership of CM Nitish Kumar is committed to the all-round development of the state," he said.

The assembly also passed the Rs 1,103.91-crore budget for the Tourism Department. Besides, the Rs 1,1307.51-crore budget of the Panchayati Raj Department was passed by the House.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)