Biharchief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday asked the urban development and housing department (UDHD) officials to expedite construction works in the state’s four cities selected under theSmart City Missionand make the four cities smart in real sense.
Bihars Patna, Muzaffarpur, Biharsharif and Bhagalpur cities have been selected for being refurbished under the Centres Smart City Mission.
Highlighting the pace of Urbanization in the state during his rule in the last 16 years, Nitish said, When we got an opportunity to work for the people of the state in 2005, we made several efforts to ensure development of urban areas and their continuous progress. In 2005, there were only 112 urban bodies in Bihar. The number increased to 258 in 2021. Similarly, the total Population of urban bodies in 2005 was around 81.49 lakh. It has increased to 158.71 lakh in 2021.
The CM also inaugurated 12,515 houses built in different towns under thePradhan Mantri AwasYojana – Urban (PMAY-U). Nitish himself handed over the keys of newly-built houses to four beneficiaries namely Manju Devi, Sushila Devi, Sanjida Parveen and Shamima Khatoon, during the function.
He also handed over the loan amount of over Rs 5.81 crore among 479 self-help groups (SHGs) under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana.