PATNA, March 25 -- In a move to enforce its "zero tolerance" policy on corruption, the Bihar government has decided to hand over the auditing of all urban local bodies to auditors empanelled by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). Deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, who also holds the urban development and housing portfolio, said this to reporters at his office on Tuesday to mark his 100-day in the office. "Till now auditing of all urban local bodies was being done by chartered accountants. From now on, CAG-empanelled auditors will carry out the auditing of every ULB," he told reporters at a press conference in his official chamber. The audits will follow the provisions of the National Municipal Accounts Manual, Sinha added. He was joined by the department's principal secretary, Vinay Kumar, while reviewing the achievements of the first 100 days of his department. The urban local bodies to be covered include 19 municipal corporations, 89 municipal councils and 154 nagar panchayats across the state. Sinha said the government is determined to raise the state's urban population from the present 15.6 per cent to the national average of 36 per cent. "We have resolved to give the people clean cities and green cities," he declared. The state cabinet has already cleared master plans for 11 new townships - nine at divisional headquarters and two at Sitamarhi and Sonepur in Saran district - besides the redevelopment of old towns and cities. Master plans for every town in the state will be prepared within the next one year, he said. The Dy CM said that floor area ratio (FAR) for new construction would be revised and enhanced significantly to allow construction of highrises. Residential areas and buildings would be opened for commercial use with certain conditions. To make life easier for citizens, all municipal corporations will soon offer every service on a single online portal. Complaints, tax payments, waste disposal requests and building map approvals will all be handled digitally. The facility is expected to be rolled out across the state in the next seven to eight months. House map approvals, currently available online only in Patna, will also be extended statewide very soon, Sinha said. The remaining work on the four smart city projects - Patna, Bhagalpur, Bihar Sharif and Muzaffarpur - will be wrapped up by October this year, the deputy chief minister announced. The projects focus on better traffic management, waste handling and public services to improve everyday life in these cities. Both corridors of the Patna Metro - the blue line (priority corridor) and the red line - will be fully operational by the end of 2030, Sinha said. The 31.39-km network, with a mix of elevated and underground sections, will link Danapur to Mithapur and Patna Junction to the new ISBT, with a common depot at Bairiya Chak. On a query about extending services to Malahi Pakri station, he said the stretch between Khemnichak and Malahi Pakri would be completed within a month. At present, metro trains are running between ISBT (Patliputra terminal), Zero Mile and Bhoothnath. Following the passage of the Bihar Municipal (Amendment) Bill 2026 in the Assembly, a special drive has been launched to remove all illegal parking spots and hoardings from the 19 municipal corporations. "Everything illegal - except matters pending in the Patna High Court - will be cleared within 24 hours," Sinha said. Only those registered with the municipal corporations will be allowed to operate parking facilities or put up hoardings. He also issued a directive that no parking fees will be collected from vehicles plying in municipal corporation areas and specifically exempted hearse vans from any charges....