Patna: The Bihar government has drawn up plans to develop satellite townships in Patna and other divisional cities, aiming to ease population pressure on major urban centres and promote more systematic growth.
The state’s Urban Development and Housing Department has asked district magistrates to oversee the projects. Acting as chairpersons of newly formed advisory committees, they will be responsible for drawing up township blueprints, monitoring progress and guiding implementation.
The committees will also decide on boundary demarcation, the development of public facilities and land redistribution. They will have the authority to recommend partial or full cancellation of township approvals if required.
Developers will be selected by local development authorities nominated by the department. Land acquisition will follow strict verification, with ownership documents to be checked in consultation with the Revenue and Land Reforms and the Excise and Registration departments. Officials have been instructed to ensure that small landholders are allotted fair plots, with the number of small parcels reduced to avoid uneven development.
Each advisory committee will include the chief municipal executive officer, city planner, land acquisition officer and circle officer, alongside representatives from the road construction, rural works, building construction, public health engineering, environment and forest, industry, and panchayati raj departments. An officer appointed by the planning authority will serve as secretary, with an urban planning expert also joining the panel.
Officials say the initiative will strengthen Bihar’s urban infrastructure while reducing the strain of rapid population growth. The government hopes the move will pave the way for smart, well-organised and environmentally sustainable townships in the coming years.
