Centre approves five lakh PMAY-G houses for Odisha
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced an additional one lakh houses for the state during a programme in Balangir.
The Central government has sanctioned a total of five lakh houses for Odisha under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) initiative, according to reports by Odisha Bytes, Urban Acres and Deccan Chronicle. Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the additional one lakh houses on Saturday during an event in Balangir, where Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi was also present.
The new allocation follows an initial sanction of four lakh houses based on the Awas Plus 2024 survey. Mr Chouhan stated that the previous number of houses was not enough to meet the needs of eligible families in the state. He added that a pilot anti-poverty programme would be launched in Odisha, starting from Balangir.
Chief Minister Majhi noted that since the 2014-15 financial year, various rural housing schemes in the state have resulted in the completion of over 41 lakh pucca houses. Of these, more than 5.66 lakh were finished in the last two years. Under the PMAY-G scheme specifically, 25.58 lakh houses have been completed out of 28.06 lakh sanctioned.
During the programme, Mr Majhi also inaugurated and laid foundation stones for 248 development projects in Balangir district, valued at approximately Rs 911 crore. These projects include works related to irrigation, health infrastructure, drinking water, and road improvements.
The Chief Minister requested the Centre to sanction another one lakh houses to reach all eligible beneficiaries. Mr Chouhan indicated that further allocations would be made in the future and promised that every village would eventually be connected by all-weather roads.