Urban development and housing minister Samrat Choudhary at the meet on Sunday. Picture by Jai Prakash

The last date for submitting feedback on draft of the city’s proposed master plan has been extended to November 15.

Urban development and housing department would also put a time frame on execution of various components. Urban development and housing minister Samrat Choudhary announced this at a public consultation meeting on Sunday. Various stakeholders — officials from nearby blocks like Khusrupoor, Maner, Masudhi, Naubatpur and Punpun and trade bodies — participated and gave their suggestions. “We’ll make sure the proposed master plan is implemented by year-end. But we want to ensure maximum feedback first,” Choudhary said.

The draft of the master plan was released on August 15. The proposed Patna metropolitan region would stretch from Ganga in the north to Punpun in the south and Fatuha in the east to Bihta in the west.

Patna has not had a master plan since 1981, leading to unplanned development. The minister said: “Patna is probably the only state capital that does not have a master plan.”

The developers’ body highlighted crucial issues. “Though cadastral maps have been given under proposed master plan, digital maps of the total plan area should also be prepared to give details regarding topography of different areas. Besides, the master plan has envisaged ground water as the main source of potable water. However, high level of arsenic is found in ground water at Maner. Hence, there should be separate arrangement in such areas,” said Sachin Chandra, state chairman, Builders Association of India.

Representatives from industry bodies sought to increase industrial land from proposed 2 per cent to 10 per cent. “We have also sought clarification on the issue of coordination with the central government regarding development of a new airport at Punpun,” said K.P.S. Kesari, ex-president of Bihar Industries Association.

Residents can access the master plan on the department website — urban.bih.nic.in or http://nagarseva.in/. They can also go to the office of the department or the urban local bodies concerned. Apart from the master plan, residents can also give their feedback on the proposed building byelaws on the portals.