Odisha to expand affordable housing, strengthen urban mobility and planning

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to accelerate urban development projects while expanding affordable housing, strengthening public transport and improving planning and drainage infrastructure across the state.

The decisions were taken at a high-level review meeting on Urban Development and Urban Mobility held at Kharabela Bhawan under the chairpersonship of Housing & Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra.

The meeting reviewed the progress of various ongoing programmes and projects of the Housing & Urban Development Department, with particular emphasis on faster execution, removal of implementation bottlenecks and timely utilisation of allocated funds.

Additional Chief Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department, Usha Padhee, DMA Arindam Dakua, Special and Additional Secretaries of the department, senior officials of CRUT and other concerned officials attended the meeting.

Focus on affordable housing

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Mahapatra said the government was working to expand affordable housing opportunities for people across different income groups.

He said discussions were held on developing new housing models for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Low Income Groups (LIG) and Middle Income Groups (MIG), besides exploring rental housing solutions to address the changing needs of urban residents.

The Minister also referred to his recent visit to Maharashtra to study precast construction technology and the “Mission 100” model, under which 100 houses are constructed in 100 days.

He said a technical team would be deputed to Maharashtra to assess the feasibility of adopting such technology in Odisha. The move is aimed at exploring faster construction of quality and affordable houses while adhering to prescribed technical and construction standards.

Town planning to cover larger urban areas

The government is also looking to expand Town Planning Schemes to larger urban areas in a systematic manner.

Mahapatra said strengthening urban planning mechanisms would be crucial to ensure orderly expansion of towns and better management of the state’s rapidly growing urban areas.

He also stressed the need to strengthen Development Authorities across districts and equip them with greater institutional capacity to undertake town planning, planned urban expansion and coordinated development.

‘Odisha Yatri’ expansion planned

On urban mobility, the Minister emphasised the need to expand the Odisha Yatri initiative to more cities across the state.

The expansion is intended to provide commuters with more convenient and reliable mobility options while creating sustainable livelihood opportunities and ensuring direct benefits for drivers associated with the platform.

Roads, drainage infrastructure under focus

The meeting also reviewed damage to urban roads and drainage infrastructure caused by the monsoon.

Mahapatra directed officials to expedite the repair and restoration of roads affected by heavy rainfall and complete essential works within stipulated timelines.

He further stressed the need to accelerate the preparation and implementation of Storm Water Drainage Master Plans across Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to improve urban resilience and reduce waterlogging during periods of heavy rainfall.

The Minister directed officials to maintain close coordination, strengthen field-level monitoring and ensure timely completion of projects.

He said urban development initiatives must remain focused on building well-planned, resilient and citizen-centric cities while delivering visible improvements in the quality of urban life.