India has witnessed steady urbanization marked by significant economic and demographic shifts. However, this rapid expansion has exacerbated spatial and infrastructural disparities, particularly within its second-tier cities, where slums face inadequate infrastructure and uneven development. This paper critically engages with Graham and Marvin’s (2001) theory of splintering urbanism through an ethnographic analysis of two state resettled slums—Kaushal Nagar and Lohanipur—in Patna. It highlights the divergent pathways through which infrastructure and services are accessed, negotiated, and contested in non-metropolitan contexts. The rationale for this study arises from the limitations of splintering urbanism in explaining how marginalized communities in the Global South actively navigate and reshape infrastructural inequalities. The findings reveal that, despite being established under the same housing scheme, the two slums have followed divergent trajectories in navigating urban infrastructure. Each settlement has developed distinct strategies—ranging from political negotiation to grassroots resistance—to access services and assert their place within the city. Urban fragmentation in these sites is driven less by elite secession and more by everyday negotiations, spatial politics, and historical patterns of exclusion. This study enriches urban scholarship by extending the conceptual lens of splintering urbanism, shifting focus from metro-centric and Global North paradigms to highlight the unique experiences of urban fringes in navigating infrastructure in second-tier cities like Patna. It emphasizes the necessity for inclusive urban policies that acknowledge diverse governance practices and modes of infrastructural negotiation, reflecting the complex socio-political realities of cities in the Global South beyond prevailing neoliberal frameworks.