A total of 111 villages within an 8km radius of Bhagalpur city will be brought under Bhagalpur Municipal Corporation’s jurisdiction as part of the smart city plan. 

The move will brighten things up for the villages because Bhagalpur has been selected to be converted into a smart city by the Union government. 

“A proposal to include the villages under the jurisdiction of the civic body has been sent to the authorities for approval,” said town commissioner Avinash Kumar Singh. 

He said the villages would be given access to all modern urban facilities before it is merged with Bhagalpur. The expansion is also part of the smart city plan. 

The civic body’s jurisdiction is spread across nearly 25.96 sqkm and will be expanded to 106.08 sqkm after merging the rural areas. 

“Expansion of the city is necessary, keeping in mind the smart city plan,” said Avinash. “We will send the proposal to merge the rural areas.” The villages include Nathnagar, Jagdishpur, Goradih and Sabour. 

Forty-seven villages from the Jagdishpur block, 33 villages of Sabour, 10 villages from Goradih and 21 villages from Nathnagar will be brought under the civic body’s jurisdiction, according to the proposal. 

Avinash said a blueprint of the boundaries for the city hade already been prepared and would be included in the master plan after the government approves it. 

The plan to include the rural areas with the city had been forwarded to the district magistrate. He also said the civic body would appoint a chief operating officer to monitor the plans. 

“We will not let encroachments come in the way of our plans to improve the city,” said the official. “We will soon find a solution. I will request residents of Bhagalpur to come forward and help us with the mission.”