PATNA, Sept. 20 -- Urban development and housing department (UDHD) minister Nitish Mishra has laid out a clear vision about future urban sector growth, stating that the state's cities must evolve as planned centres of economic opportunity rather than grow through unregulated expansion Speaking to Hindustan Times, Mishra stressed that satellite townships, master plans and affordable housing initiatives are being designed not merely to house people but to generate jobs, ease daily living and ease the pressure of migration. Civic basics-drainage, waterlogging, grievance redressal-remain central to this agenda, even as the government pushes urban local bodies towards greater financial self-reliance and a sharper regulatory framework. On the Supreme Court's strong observations against the commercial use of residential premises in Patna, the minister revealed that the Patna municipal corporation has already identified 27,395 such violations. Notices have been served, the first round of hearings completed, and the second round of counter-arguments is under way. No punitive action has been taken yet. A high-level committee headed by deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, of which Mishra is a member, is examining pragmatic, people-friendly relaxations in the building bye-laws without diluting the larger goal of planned urban growth. Balancing ease of doing business with firm action against illegality, Mishra outlined what he calls "Deregulation 2.0"-simplifying approvals and introducing self-certification for law-abiding citizens while keeping enforcement strict where public land, drains, heritage structures or water bodies are involved. "Facilitation and enforcement must go together. A city cannot be planned if every violation is subsequently regularised," he said. With Bihar's urbanisation still lagging the national average, the minister pointed to the next 18-24 months as critical. Under chief ninister Samrat Choudhary's leadership, satellite townships are being conceived as complete urban centres with housing, infrastructure, commercial activity and employment-not paper plans. Land pooling, where feasible, will proceed only through consultation with landowners. Citizens, he insisted, should begin seeing work on the ground rather than files moving between departments. On the perennial monsoon complaint of waterlogging, Mishra noted marked improvement in Patna this year through closer monitoring and coordination. P5...