Chief minister Nitish Kumar, accompanied by his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi and urban development minister Prem Kumar, inaugurates the schemes in Patna on Thursday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Oct. 27: Chief minister Nitish Kumar today said there was a need to bring about “perceptible development” in towns across the state over the next three to four years.

“We have to expand towns and cities over the next three or four years in a way that people can actually see the perceptible change in urban development. The people will appreciate this change,” said Nitish, while inaugurating 10 urban development schemes.

He inaugurated the schemes worth Rs 617.23 crore at the chief minister’s secretariat. Of these, five are for water supply (three in Patna and one each in Bodhgaya and Muzaffarpur), one for drainage at Rajgir and four for sewage at Bodhgaya, Begusarai, Buxar and Hajipur.

All the schemes would be implemented by Bihar Urban Development Corporation Ltd (BuidCo) and completed within 12 to 24 months.

Nitish also spoke about the unplanned and haphazard construction in the state capital. “Patna has experienced expansion without any planning. Everyone thinks of buying a flat or a house in Patna. But along with that, there is an urgent need to develop proper infrastructure.”

He also spoke at length about the hazards of unplanned urban constructions. “High-rise buildings are constructed in narrow lanes. Patna is in a seismic zone, so these buildings can be dangerous in times of earthquakes or other calamities,” he added.