Odisha’s housing allocation under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin has reached five lakh houses after the Centre sanctioned an additional one lakh units at a public event in Balangir, giving the state a fresh push towards its rural housing target.
Union rural development minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the additional allocation on Saturday. Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi said Odisha had earlier received approval for four lakh houses following the Awas Plus 2024 survey and requested approval for another one lakh homes to cover the remaining eligible beneficiaries.
Majhi said the state government’s objective was to ensure a permanent, or pucca, house for every eligible rural family. He said housing was a priority particularly for people living in disaster-prone regions, where temporary structures can leave households more exposed to extreme weather and displacement.
“A pucca house is not merely a structure of bricks, sand and cement. For poor families living in temporary shelters, it represents dignity, security and hope of a better future,” Majhi said at the event.
The chief minister said more than 41 lakh pucca houses had been completed in Odisha under various rural housing schemes since 2014-15. Of these, more than 5.66 lakh houses were completed during the last two years, according to figures cited by him.
Under PMAY-G alone, 25.58 lakh houses have been completed in the state, Majhi said. The programme provides housing assistance to eligible rural households, with implementation involving beneficiary identification, construction progress and the release of assistance through government systems.
The state has also reported progress under housing programmes aimed at particularly vulnerable communities. Majhi said 35,635 houses had been completed for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group families under PM-JANMAN, against 41,075 houses sanctioned.
Under Odisha’s Antyodaya Gruha Yojana, 1.47 lakh houses have been completed out of 2.25 lakh sanctioned. Majhi announced that the state scheme would be extended until 2029, indicating that Odisha’s housing effort will continue alongside centrally supported programmes.
The state has linked construction speed to additional financial incentives. Beneficiaries who complete their houses within five months are eligible for an incentive of Rs 35,000, while those completing construction within seven months receive Rs 20,000, Majhi said.
Chouhan said all eligible beneficiaries would receive housing assistance and indicated that further allocations would follow. He also announced that Odisha would be included in the Centre’s pilot anti-poverty programme, with Balangir selected as the starting point. The Union minister further said every village in the state would eventually be connected by all-weather roads.
The housing announcement formed part of a wider package of public works unveiled in Balangir. Earlier in the day, Majhi inaugurated and laid foundation stones for 248 projects with a combined value of Rs 911 crore. The projects cover health infrastructure, water supply, irrigation, anganwadi centres, school classrooms, roads and hostels.
The next stage for the newly sanctioned houses will involve identifying and processing eligible beneficiaries and moving sanctioned units into construction. The state government’s request for another one lakh PMAY-G houses remains pending with the Centre.
