Patna: The Bihar government has begun the process of reviewing and restructuring urban local bodies, with districts asked to submit proposals for mergers, boundary expansion, status upgrades and the creation of new urban bodies.
Urban Development and Housing Department principal secretary Vinay Kumar has directed all district magistrates (DMs) to initiate the process at the district level.
The DMs will ask the ministers in charge of their respective districts to convene meetings of the District Programme Implementation Committee, where proposals relating to urban local bodies will be examined.
Four types of changes under consideration
The government is considering four broad categories of changes to Bihar’s urban administrative structure.
Two or more existing urban local bodies could be merged to create a single new entity. The government is also considering proposals to bring rural areas adjoining existing urban bodies within their boundaries.
Smaller urban bodies could be merged with larger ones or have their status upgraded depending on local requirements.
Rapidly urbanising rural areas could also be granted urban local body status, potentially leading to the creation of new municipalities or other urban bodies.
Focus on rapidly urbanising areas
The Urban Development and Housing Department will identify rural areas experiencing rapid population growth and increasing urban activity.
Depending on the circumstances, proposals could be prepared either to merge such areas with the nearest existing urban local body or to create a new urban body.
The process could therefore lead to changes in the boundaries of several existing urban areas as well as the creation of new urban administrative units.
Districts given September 15 deadline
After review and recommendation by the District Programme Implementation Committee, DMs will submit the proposals to the Urban Development and Housing Department in the prescribed format.
The government has set September 15, 2026, as the deadline for submitting the proposals.
Further steps towards reorganising Bihar’s urban local bodies will be taken on the basis of the proposals received from the districts.
