Bihar government decides to give Patna a makeover

New Delhi: Bihar's capital Patna is all set to become the second metropolitan city of eastern India after Kolkata.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has given the go-ahead for an ambitious project to redevelop Patna.

Patna, according to estimates, is home to 1.7 million people and plays host to a floating population of over a quarter of a million.

The city has seen population growth in the range of eight to ten per cent every year and the issue of redevelopment has become urgent.

The state cabinet is likely to formally adopt a resolution to this effect and set up a high-power Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC), to be headed by the state's urban development minister.

Town planners, architects and engineers will be either members or advisors to the MPC.

Boundaries

One of the first tasks for the MPC is to redefine boundaries of the capital in order to decongest it. Adjoining town Danapur, Khagaual and Patna City (known popularity as Patna Sahib due to presence of a prominent Sikh gurdwara at the birth place of Guru, Guru Govind Singh) could formally become part of the proposed metropolis.

Sources say Patna is growing faster than Guwahati and Bhubaneswar, capitals of Assam and Orissa respectively, and a planned growth is a must.