Bihar's 11 Greenfield Satellite Townships: Master Plan Status (Pataliputra Township & Others)

Status as of July 2026

No township in this programme has an approved, notified master plan yet. The Bihar government has approved a sweeping infrastructure push centred on planned urban expansion, with the state cabinet clearing proposals for 11 satellite townships on 25 November 2025. The state cabinet had on November 25, 2025 given its nod for developing 11 satellite townships including nine divisional headquarters towns/cities apart from two other townships of Sonepur (Hariharnathpur) in Saran district and Sitamarhi (Sitapuram). Following this, officials have imposed a ban on the sale and purchase of land within the identified zones, along with a prohibition on new construction activity to keep speculative plotting from pre-empting the eventual zoning. In a major development, the Bihar state cabinet on June 17, 2026 approved a proposal to partially relax the land transaction ban across all 11 Greenfield Satellite Township zones, but general private land-to-land sales remain restricted until the master plan is officially approved (targeted March 2027).

Total Planned Area vs Core (Phase-1) Development Area — Do Not Confuse the Two

Each township has two distinct footprints, and figures are frequently mixed up in press coverage:

• Special Area / Special Zone — the outer boundary of the whole notified township, i.e. the ultimate long-run planning envelope.
• Core Area / Core Zone — a smaller inner zone earmarked for the first round of infrastructure (roads, utilities, initial plotting). The proposed townships have been divided into 'Core' and 'Special' zones, with priority initially being given to development within the core zones.

Confirmed figures by township (as reported in official notifications and cabinet briefings):

Core-zone figures above are sourced from a tracked cabinet briefing listing; independent official confirmation for Saran, Anga and Sitapuram core acreage was not found as of this writing, so those cells are left blank rather than estimated.

Land-Use Split (Applies Across All 11 Townships)

Rather than a single fixed plan drawing, the government has announced a common percentage formula that will govern the Town Planning Scheme (TPS) land-pooling exercise in every township. Principal Secretary said that 22 per cent of the land will be used for roads and other connectivity, five per cent will be used for green space and public utilities, three per cent will be used for giving accommodation to people belonging to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), besides 15 per cent will be used for roads, lanes, Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP), Water Treatment Plant (WTP), drinking water, electric grid etc. If the above 55 per cent of developed land that will be given to landowners is added, it becomes 100 per cent of the planned township area. This 55% is not a land-use category in the traditional sense — it is the share of pooled, now-serviced land handed back to the original owners as developed residential/commercial plots under the Town Planning Scheme, a legal land-pooling mechanism designed to convert irregular and undeveloped land into organized urban layouts without the need for compulsory land acquisition.

Phases & Timeline

The programme is proceeding as a sequence of planning milestones rather than announced construction phases with hectare targets:

• Survey and zone demarcation — the survey work for the project has been completed, and the process of appointing consultants is currently underway (as reported June 2026).
• Consultant appointment — the government has floated tenders for consultant appointments, and the selection process is expected to be completed in June 2026; no consultant firm name has been publicly confirmed in available sources.
• Draft master plans — the draft plan for the new townships is expected by October–November 2026, after which detailed planning will begin; separately reported as detailed master plans for all townships are targeted to be ready by October-November this year.
• Zonal plan classification — for the first group of seven townships (Patna, Sonepur, Gaya, Darbhanga, Saharsa, Purnia, Munger), authorities will now prepare detailed master and zonal plans under the broader Master Plan 2031 framework, and the zoning exercise will classify land into residential, commercial, green and other categories.
• Master plan finalisation/notification — for Pataliputra specifically, the transaction ban stays in force until the master plan is officially approved (targeted March 2027).
• Land pooling execution — the land pooling process will begin within two months of formal notification of each township project, after which landowners will be invited to submit objections and suggestions, which will be reviewed before finalisation.

Population and Employment Targets

No official, published population target for the townships was found in current government notifications. Employment figures circulating are industry estimates rather than department targets: Bihar Industries Association (BIA) President Ramlal Khetan said each township is expected to generate around 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, taking the total employment potential of all 11 townships to more than five lakh. Separately, one report put the estimated investment for Pataliputra Township alone at nearly 81,000 acres with an estimated investment of ₹1,00,000 crore, while the Bihar Cabinet has already approved ₹1,302 crore for the development of the Sonepur Aerocity project.

Planner / Consultant

Master plans are being prepared in-house by the state, with external planning consultants to be engaged for detailed work. Each township will be developed based on a detailed master plan prepared by the Urban Development Department, and separately the government has floated tenders for consultant appointments, and the selection process is expected to be completed in June 2026. No specific consulting firm name has been confirmed in publicly available reporting as of this writing. Note that Patna city's own long-standing statutory plan — the unrelated Patna Master Plan 2031 — was prepared by DCPL, Kolkata and updated by CEPT, Ahmedabad; this is a separate, pre-existing document from the new 11-township satellite programme, though officials have referenced the same "Master Plan 2031" horizon terminology for the new townships in the Patna division group.

Where to Find Official Plan Documents

As of July 2026, there is no single consolidated public portal carrying the finalised master plans for the 11 townships, because none has been notified yet. For primary and semi-official material, check:

• The Urban Development and Housing Department / Patna Metropolitan Area Authority (PMAA) website, which carries satellite township notices — pmaa.bihar.gov.in/satellite-township.
• The existing (separate) Patna Master Plan 2031 report, published by PMAA — pmaa.bihar.gov.in.
• News coverage of individual cabinet notifications and zone/village lists (Patna Press, Swarajya, The Print, Indian Masterminds) for the latest land-ban, land-use and timeline updates, since these outlets have been tracking each notification as it is issued.

Buyers and residents should treat any third-party "official map" or "master plan PDF" sold or shared outside these channels with caution until the government publishes a notified plan, per the general caution that anyone offering land for sale in Bihar satellite township with claims such as "government-approved," "guaranteed five-times return" or "registry open for all plots" should be asked to produce supporting documents.