East Singhbhum DC Amit Kumar on Monday said the proposed industrial town of Jamshedpur would have 243 wards and that its area and population would be determined according to the 2011 Census.

DC Kumar said this in the wake of the state government's plan to give industrial town status to areas under Tata Steel lease, while upgrading Mango, Jugsalai and others non-company areas into separate municipal corporations. So far, non-Tata areas are under notified area committees.

Presiding over the meeting at his chamber, also attended by Tata Steel officials, Kumar asked Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) to determine the area and population of 243 wards within three days and submit a report.

Tata Steel was represented by Rituraj Sinha, chief of corporate services.

"This was the first meeting of the steering committee on industrial township. The meeting discussed the 243 wards which will come under the industrial town. The area and population of the wards will be determined in the next three days after which we will have another meeting in which we will discuss field verification and physical demarcation of boundaries," said the DC, who heads the steering committee on industrial township.

Tata Steel spokesperson Amresh Sinha said talks were at a preliminary stage. "More discussion will be required for a finality on the issue," the company spokesperson said.

The decision on Jamshedpur's industrial township status was pending with the Supreme Court since 2006.

As far back as in 1998, Tata Steel approached then Bihar government for Jamshedpur's industrial township status. In 2006, it filed a special leave petition before the Supreme Court, challenging the Jharkhand government's notification and publication in its official gazette in 2005 of its intention to form a municipal corporation for Jamshedpur. The Supreme Court had directed status quo on the issue.

Last week, the Supreme Court disposed off the case as both Tata Steel and state government mutually agreed on industrial township status.

Confirming this, JNAC special officer Deepak Sahay, who was present at Monday's meeting, said: "Now that decks have been cleared for industrial township issue, the steering committee headed by the DC will submit a draft plan to the state government."