Bihar will begin construction of 704 small bridges on 10 September 2025 under the Mukhyamantri Gramin Setu Yojana (MGSY). The plan carries an outlay of ₹3,688 crore, is aimed squarely at rural “missing links” and flood-weakened crossings, and comes with unusually tough execution terms: start work by Sept 10 or face forfeiture of security deposits and blacklisting. A district-wise schedule places East Champaran (56) at the top, followed by Darbhanga (38); several others—including Gaya, Siwan, Sitamarhi (30 each)—also see heavy coverage.
The bridge blitz is designed to lock in gains from a larger rural-infrastructure rollout unveiled earlier this monsoon. On July 17, 2025, the state launched ₹21,406 crore of works: 11,346 rural roads and 730 bridges across schemes of the Rural Works Department. That package mixed projects already starting with those moving to foundation-stone stage—an approach that builds a steady pipeline into FY 2025-26 and beyond. The 704-bridge tranche now fills the stubborn, short gaps that often sever access in the rains.
Policy continuity matters here. Bihar revived the CM Rural Bridge scheme in September 2024 after a gap, explicitly to tackle flood damage and missing links on rural roads. Think of the 704 as year-two scaling of that revival, with stricter timelines and district targeting.
Enforcement has teeth. Apart from written warnings of blacklisting in recent notices, the Rural Works Department maintains a public debarment/blacklist registry, a nudge for on-time starts and site presence during the monsoon construction window.
Why this focus on small bridges? Evidence on India’s rural-road programmes shows that all-weather connectivity does more than cut travel time: it shifts labour into non-farm work, helps keep children in school longer, and raises the odds of institutional births—especially when roads are paired with reliable crossings that stay open in the rains. World Bank impact evaluations of PMGSY (a national analogue) document shorter journeys and a shift toward non-farm employment; other studies link rural roads to higher school attainment and 11–13 percentage-point gains in institutional deliveries. Those are exactly the outcomes Bihar is chasing by funding not just roads, but the short bridges and approach roads that unlock them year-round.
There’s also an eye on resilience and upkeep. After a spate of bridge failures nationally, Bihar approved a Bridge Management & Maintenance Policy (2025) that brings AI/ML into inspection and prioritises preventive maintenance—critical in riverine districts like East Champaran, Darbhanga, Bhagalpur and the Kosi belt where scouring and approach-road washouts are common. Building 704 bridges is one half; keeping them serviceable through flood cycles is the other.
What to watch next:
Tender packages and mobilization—contracts that hit the Sept 10 start line versus those slipping into the post-monsoon backlog;
Approach roads—the plan explicitly funds approaches so bridges don’t become stranded assets; and
District sequencing—with East Champaran, Darbhanga and Gaya high on the list, expect early activity where vulnerability and demand were flagged through Janata ke Darbar townhalls. The state’s messaging—and the published district breakdown—suggest a participatory selection and a focus on habitations long cut off by seasonal waters.
