The Bihar cabinet has approved a loan of 500 million U.S. dollars (around ₹4,740 crore) from the World Bank to support the state’s ambitious urban transformation programme aimed at planned urbanisation and infrastructure development.
The decision was cleared during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary along with deputy chief ministers Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav. Officials said the programme is designed to promote sustainable and climate-responsive urban growth while attracting long-term private investment in city infrastructure.
The move comes shortly after the state government announced plans to develop 11 greenfield satellite townships across Bihar, including in Patna, Gaya, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Purnia, and other cities. The proposed urban centres are expected to support better housing, connectivity, and organised expansion of rapidly growing towns.
To prevent unplanned development, the government has already imposed temporary restrictions on land sale, transfer, and new construction activities in the identified township zones until the master plans are finalised. Officials said the zonal development plans for several cities are expected to be completed over the next year.
Apart from the World Bank-backed urban push, the cabinet also approved several major infrastructure initiatives, including maintenance of over 19,000 kilometres of roads using AI-based monitoring systems and the introduction of 400 electric buses under the PM e-bus scheme.
The Bihar government believes the urban transformation programme will accelerate economic activity, improve civic amenities, and prepare the state for future population and industrial growth.
