CEPT has prepared a master plan for Patna’s town planning scheme. The draft, which has been approved in principle, will guide planned urban development in Bihar.

It needs to be recalled that in January 2011, the Bihar government had approached CEPT to prepare a city development plan for Patna, which had been facing serious civic problems, especially water-logging, waste management and unplanned constructions.

Reports suggest that CEPT is ready with the new town planning scheme for Bihar‘s capital, which will be announced in August by Nitish Kumar. During discussions with CEPT and Patna-based consultants, representatives of the Bihar government had requested that urban plan should be similar to that of Gujarat.

“CEPT has submitted its recommendations along with the master plan to the Patna city authorities, which has been approved. The plan is based on Gujarat's town planning model,” Utpal Sharma, dean, Faculty of Planning & Public Policy at CEPT University, was quoted in the Telegraph recently. CEPT’s master plan covers areas like town planning, urban flood and solid waste management, housing plans for poor, public transport, industrial area infrastructure development and even tourism. It has also proposed conservation measures for heritage structures in Patna, which is an important pilgrimage centre for Buddhists from all over the world.

“Patna is different from other cities and has its own charm, history and stories. But the city is quite congested and had not been planned for the last 20 years. We had to keep all these aspects in mind while planning the city’s development,” Sharma added.