- Why in news
- On 3 November 2026, MoRTH and the Government of Bihar signed an MoU in New Delhi for scientific desilting of rivers and water bodies. The excavated silt will be used in National Highway projects in Bihar under 'Nadi Sanjivani'.
- What it is
- Nadi Sanjivani is an initiative that links river and water-body desilting with highway construction in Bihar. Suitable silt dug out of water bodies is used as construction material instead of fresh earth or farm soil. It aims to restore river carrying capacity, help flood management and save agricultural land.
- Parties and place
- MoRTH and the Government of Bihar signed the MoU in New Delhi, with NHAI as the implementing agency on the highway side.
- Nodal department
- Bihar's Road Construction Department is the nodal department. A State-level Coordination Committee will examine proposals, ease approvals and monitor work.
- State policy
- The work follows the Bihar Water Sources Restoration and Silt Management Policy, 2026. It also allows removal of flood-deposited sand and silt from farmland.
- Silt quantities
- 243 lakh cubic metres of silt will go into 16 ongoing projects. About 835 lakh cubic metres is proposed for 27 future projects, subject to technical suitability and approvals.
- Quality and safeguards
- Silt suitability will be tested against MoRTH specifications and Indian Roads Congress (IRC) codes. Extraction is allowed only at approved locations and within technical limits.
- NH network in Bihar
- The National Highway network in Bihar grew from 4,615 km in 2014 to about 6,500 km now.
Don’t confuse with Desilting vs dredging for navigation: Here, desilting aims at flood control, water-carrying capacity and construction material. Dredging under inland waterways mainly keeps channels deep enough for navigation.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Restoring carrying capacity of rivers helps flood control in flood-prone Bihar, where Nepal-origin rivers bring heavy sediment.
- Using silt cuts the need for fresh earth and farm soil, which saves farmland and lowers highway costs.
Problems
- Unregulated extraction can harm riverbanks, embankments, bridges and river ecosystems.
- Not all silt suits road construction, and transport and monitoring need transparency to avoid illegal mining.
Way forward
- Follow technical assessments, approved sites and IRC-based testing, with digital records and joint measurement.
- Extend the model to other states only after reviewing Bihar's results and environmental impact.
Put in your answer
Silt use plan: 243 lakh cubic metres for 16 ongoing projects and about 835 lakh cubic metres for 27 future projects in Bihar.
Bihar flood vulnerability: Bihar faces recurring floods, partly from rivers originating in Nepal that carry water and sediment.
- 2017Mains GS1 · Q16How floods can become sustainable irrigation and all-weather inland navigation source.
- 2020Mains GS1 · Q14Critically examine river interlinking as solution to droughts, floods, navigation.
- 2024Mains GS3 · Q18Discuss causes, features, and policies for urban flooding in India.
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Links desilting, flood management and highway material. Worth a card, but a state MoU makes a question unlikely.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.