Bhagalpur Greenfield Airport: Nitish Kumar’s Bold Bet for Bihar
Traffic Jam near Bhagalpur railway station! (Image TRH)
The Bihar cabinet’s approval of ₹472.72 crore for land acquisition in Sultanganj revives a four-decade dream — but success will hinge on political will to turn paperwork into runway reality.
By Amit Kumar
Patna, October 5, 2025 — In the skies above Sultanganj, Bihar’s long-shelved dream of flight is finally taking shape. The Nitish Kumar government’s decision to acquire 931 acres for Bhagalpur’s greenfield airport — at a cost of ₹472.72 crore — is more than a bureaucratic milestone. It’s a political gamble, an economic catalyst, and a social experiment rolled into one.
For Bhagalpur, this approval marks the end of a 42-year wait. Commercial flights last touched down here in the early 1980s, only to fade into oblivion amid poor economics and poorer planning. Now, under the Centre’s UDAN regional connectivity scheme, Bihar is betting that airstrips can be engines of equality — shrinking distances and bridging its chronic infrastructure deficit.
The site at Sultanganj, just 25 km from Bhagalpur and straddling the Ganga, is strategically positioned to serve eastern Bihar’s silk industry, the pilgrim corridor of Shravani Mela, and nearby districts like Munger and Banka. It’s a move that could turn Bhagalpur into a commercial hub and spiritual waypoint, linking trade with tourism.
But the project’s promise comes with peril. Land acquisition in Bihar has rarely been smooth. The fertile floodplains of Sultanganj sustain smallholder farmers who see land not as a commodity but as inheritance. The state has offered ₹50 lakh per acre in compensation — fair on paper, but justice will depend on transparency and timely disbursal. Any missteps could ignite protests and delay construction, as seen in Bihta’s extended runway saga.
Environmental oversight is another hurdle. The proposed site lies near the Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary — an ecological hotspot that demands rigorous scrutiny. Development at the cost of biodiversity would only repeat the errors of India’s hasty infrastructure boom elsewhere.
Yet the stakes go beyond asphalt and air routes. Bhagalpur’s airport is part of a broader ₹11,500-crore blueprint for 15 airports across Bihar — an ambitious bid to rewrite the state’s economic geography. If executed right, it could transform the ₹5,000-crore silk sector, boost agro-exports, and create thousands of jobs across construction, logistics, and hospitality.
And there’s symbolism, too. For decades, Bihar’s youth have left in droves — over 20 lakh working abroad in Gulf countries alone. Connectivity could finally help stem that tide, turning migration from necessity to choice.
The Bhagalpur airport, then, is not just a runway project; it’s a referendum on Bihar’s governance. The Nitish administration has placed a high-stakes bet on aviation as the great equalizer — a tool to lift not just planes, but aspirations.
If the project delivers on its promise — with fiscal discipline, environmental responsibility, and community buy-in — it could redefine Bihar’s trajectory. But if it falters under red tape and political theatre, the dream of a “flying Bihar” will remain grounded.
For now, the cabinet’s green signal has lifted local hopes skyward. The real question is whether those hopes will find a safe landing.
(This is an opinion piece, and views expressed are those of the author only)
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