Bihar Forest Department Takes on Highway Clearance Role, Raising Governance Questions

The Bihar Forest Department entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state Road Construction Department on September 26 to facilitate forest and environmental clearances for a 10.5-km widening project of NH-333 through the Gangata forest in Munger district. The proposed work involves widening the existing single-lane road to two lanes and requires diversion of around 2.1 hectares of land from the Bhimband Wildlife Sanctuary. The proposal is currently under consideration through the central PARIVESH clearance system.
The arrangement would have given the Forest Department responsibility for facilitating statutory approvals and supporting the availability of required forest land—functions directly linked to the execution of the highway project. This has triggered concerns about a potential conflict between the department’s regulatory conservation role and its role as a facilitator of infrastructure development.

Following the concerns, Bihar’s Head of Forest Force Arvinder Singh announced that the MoU would be withdrawn. The episode highlights a broader governance challenge: infrastructure expansion through forest areas requires coordination between road agencies, forest authorities and central environmental regulators while maintaining a clear separation of regulatory responsibilities.

Bihar already has multiple road projects moving through the forest-clearance framework, underscoring the scale of coordination required between infrastructure agencies and environmental authorities.

Governance Impact: The development brings institutional accountability into focus. As Bihar expands highway connectivity, clearly defined roles, transparent clearance procedures and independent environmental scrutiny will remain critical to balancing faster infrastructure execution with forest and wildlife protection.