Clouds hover over Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Jai Prakash

The urban development and housing department has decided to launch a publicity blitz to make Patna residents aware of the master plan after it failed to garner enough public response.

Urban development and housing minister Samrat Choudhary said street plays and hoardings would be part of the promotional programme. Also, the department would be working with NGOs and business bodies to take the master plan to the residents.

The draft of the plan was made public in mid-August. Officials had said the draft would be kept in the public domain for two months from August 14 for people’s feedback before it is finalised by the department. The draft would be changed on the basis of public suggestions after which it would be tabled before the cabinet for an approval, the department had said.

On July 25, the cabinet had declared the “plan area” in the proposed master plan for the capital and it was a prerequisite for making the draft public.

“The awareness drive would be launched this month and professional agencies would be hired for it. Our goal is to make Patna residents aware of the plan according to which the city would be developed,” the minister said. No agency has been hired yet.

Sources said even after a fortnight of placing the master plan in the public domain, not a single suggestion had come in.

“We hope to get useful suggestions from residents after the awareness drive,” a department official said.

The department’s move to launch an awareness drive seems to be a well-planned approach as talks with residents brought to light that many were not aware that a draft master plan had been put in public domain soliciting their suggestions and comments.

Businessman Amar Kumar Jha said: “I did hear about the master plan but have no idea about its details. Moreover, keeping the information on a website is not going to be of much help as many residents don’t visit the virtual world. There has to be other ways than online options for knowing the details about the master plan.”

According to the broader outline of the awareness drive, street plays and hoardings would be used to make residents aware about the plan. The department would also take help of civil society organisations and trade bodies like Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Bihar Industries Association and Builders’ Association of India on this front.

According to the draft plan, Patna would be spread over 1,167sqkm. At present, the corresponding figure is 250sqkm.

The proposed Patna metropolitan region, says the draft document, would stretch from the Ganga in the north to Punpun in the south and Fatuha in the east to Bihta in the west. Two satellite townships at Naubatpur and Bihta have also been proposed in the draft document.