Patna: Taking a major step that is set to impact property owners, tenants and businesses, the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) has revised the classification of city roads, a move that will lead to higher land valuation and increased holding tax for residential and commercial properties. With the reclassification, renting houses and shops in several parts of the city is expected to become more expensive.
Under the new system, 19 major roads have been upgraded to the category of ‘Pradhan Mukhya Sadak’ (principal main roads). As a result, the market rate of land along these roads will increase, making property transactions costlier. Holding tax for buildings located on these roads will also rise, directly affecting homeowners, shop owners and tenants.
The municipal corporation has prepared a fresh list of around 112 roads across Patna. Of these, 43 roads have now been categorised as principal main roads, while 69 roads fall under the ‘main road’ category. The decision has been taken as part of the holding tax assessment process in the Patna Municipal Corporation area. The revised classification will now form the basis for determining holding tax under the new system.
The road reclassification was carried out after receiving approval from the Urban Development and Housing Department. Civic officials said the move aims to bring uniformity and transparency in property tax assessment in line with current urban development patterns.
Earlier, the city had 24 principal main roads and 88 main roads. Several prominent stretches such as Kankarbagh, Kidwaipuri, Congress Maidan, Buddha Marg, Ashiana–Digha Road, Ashok Rajpath and Hanuman Nagar were earlier categorised as main roads but have now been upgraded to principal main roads. Roads such as Bakarganj Daldali Road, Chandmari Road, Gandhi Path, Bank Road, Jamal Road, Gaureya Toli Path, Birla Mandir Road, Makhaniya Kuan Road and Govind Mitra Road continue to be classified as main roads.
According to the revised list, newly designated principal main roads include Harding Road, Bakarganj Bajaj Road, stretches near Harding Road from Buddha Marg, Anugrah Narayan Path, Ashiana–Digha Road, Chiraiyatand–English Road, Congress Maidan Road, Golghar Park Road, Hanuman Nagar Road, Karbighiya Road, Kidwaipuri Road, Mathura Sinha Prasad Path, Naya Sadak Road (Guru Gobind Singh Path), Nalanda Medical College and Hospital Road, Naval Kishore Path, Rampur Road, Sahdev Marg, Sinha Library Road and Vidyapati Marg.
Under the classification norms, roads wider than 40 feet are categorised as principal main roads, those between 20 and 40 feet as main roads, and roads narrower than 20 feet fall under the ‘other roads’ category. The municipal corporation has decided to review the road classification every five years and make revisions if required.
Officials said the entire exercise has been carried out under Rule 3 of the Bihar Municipal Property Tax Assessment, Collection and Recovery Rules, 2013. With the new classifications coming into force, residents and businesses along upgraded roads are likely to see a noticeable increase in holding tax in the coming assessment cycle.
