The Centre has begun processing West Bengal’s request to upgrade 16 state highways covering about 2,000 km into national highways, a move that could strengthen border connectivity, industrial access and road maintenance across the state. The proposal was presented by Public Works Minister Ajay Poddar to Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, according to government sources.
State officials said the Centre has responded positively to the request and that work on the process could begin on the ground within the next couple of months. The proposed upgrades cover roads spread across West Bengal, including routes connecting border areas, industrial locations, pilgrimage sites and major towns.
A senior Public Works Department official said the conversion would improve the state’s road transport system while reducing the financial burden of maintaining the roads on the state government. “We can then concentrate on more remote areas’ roads with those expenditures,” the official said, linking the proposal to the state’s plans for industrialisation and employment generation.
Among the most important routes on the list is the road connecting the border areas of Malda-Gour and Mahadipur. The state has also requested national highway status for the road connecting Chakdaha, Bongaon and Petrapole, a key route towards the India-Bangladesh border.
Other roads included in the proposal are the Durgapur-Bankura route, Purulia-Barakar Road, the road from Mohammad Bazar via Sainthia to Kandi, and the route from Asansol Jubilee More to Jamtara Road. The proposed national highway status would give these roads greater priority for expansion and maintenance, according to state administration sources.
The border routes have gained additional strategic importance amid concerns over the political situation in Bangladesh, a state official said. West Bengal shares borders with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, making road access to frontier areas relevant to both transport planning and strategic connectivity.
The proposed upgrade is also linked to industrial and regional development plans. An industrial estate is being developed in Raghunathpur in Purulia, and officials said that upgrading the Purulia-Barakar Road would be important in that context. The list also includes the road leading to Gangasagar, where the state government has already allocated funds for a proposed bridge.
The proposal would shift a larger share of responsibility for expansion and maintenance from the state to the national highways system if the roads are formally declared national highways. The development follows an earlier administrative change under which responsibility for overseeing West Bengal’s seven national highways was transferred from the Public Works Department’s National Highways wing to the National Highways Authority and the National Highways Development Board.
The Centre’s positive response marks the beginning of the upgrade process, but the roads will still need to be formally notified and taken through the required implementation stages. State officials expect the process to move to the ground within a couple of months.
