Centre for Environment Planning and Technology (CEPT) University, Ahmedabad, would submit a revised draft of the master plan of Patna Metropolitan Region (PMR) by July 15 for chief minister Nitish Kumar’s approval.

“The CEPT is supposed to submit the final draft of the master plan to the department by July 15. Once the plan reaches us, it would be sent to the chief minister for his in-principle nod. If the chief minister gives his nod, the draft plan would be put on the public domain (website of the department) to seek suggestions/objections,” urban development department minister Prem Kumar told The Telegraph.

Earlier, a presentation of the draft master plan was made in the chief minister’s presence in the first week of September 2011.

“The presentation was made to show the progress of the work being done on the master plan. The deadline given to CEPT to submit the final draft report is July 15, after which the subsequent procedures would be undertaken by the state government,” said a senior officer of the department.

The earlier master plan for Patna (1981-2001) had expired in 2001 and since then there had been no guidelines to regulate urban growth in the state capital. The department had in February 2011 entrusted the CEPT with the task of conducting surveys and providing technical assistance to prepare the draft master plan.

The draft master plan comprises three policy documents — master plan for PMR, town and country planning bill and building bylaws.

Sources said the proposed master plan envisages the PMR to be spread across 2,052 sqkm, covering Patna, Saran and Vaishali.

The master plan would be used to prepare and regulate urban growth in and around a city over 20 years. It also prescribes classification of metropolitan areas in a few zones according to land use.

According to sources, the town and country planning bill envisages creation of town and country planning authorities in urban, semi-urban and rural areas in the proposed PMR. These authorities would implement provisions of the master plan and its allied policy documents.

The department has also prepared a law titled Bihar Municipal Building Bylaws and Building Code (Draft). The proposed law has been prepared to regulate building construction and development in terms of land use, coverage (land used for construction), floor-area ratio, open space, height, number of storeys and parking standards.