Muzaffarpur Municipal Corporation has decided to extend its services to people residing outside the periphery of the town.

The urban development department has begun an exercise to bring some villages under the jurisdiction of the corporation. The department has identified 32 such villages.

If its area increases, the civic body also stands to gain financially in terms of revenue. Madhu Gupta, the municipal commissioner, said the department would soon bring some villages under the corporation for development.

The civic body would charge holding taxes from householders once the villages are brought under its jurisdiction.

The department started survey work of these villages in February using geographic information system. Two Mumbai-based agencies have been awarded the work. Members of the agencies have started visiting the areas to study and make assessments of the settlements. Spot surveys and other assessments are being conducted.

The survey will continue for the next two months, said Ashutosh Gupta, a member of the team.

The survey is being done in a radius of 60km from the corporation area. The team is also collecting details of number of roads, drains, lanes, bylanes, landline facility of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and numbers of commercial establishments and residential houses.

Anuj Kumar, a senior engineer of one of the agencies, told The Telegraph that the first phase of satellite study of the 32 villages is complete.

He hoped the task would be accomplished in a month or two. The agencies have also collected details about the healthcare and elec- tricity facilities available in the villages.

The urban development department will also prepare a plan to construct a drai- nage system and roads on the basis of the survey, added Gupta.