Bhubaneswar has taken another step towards addressing its urban housing deficit, with the city’s municipal administration allocating permanent homes to 167 low-income households under national and state-supported housing programmes. The latest allotments, completed through a public lottery process, form part of a broader effort to transition families from informal settlements into planned, serviced housing within the city’s expanding urban fabric.
The homes have been delivered as part of ongoing implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–Urban and the Rajiv Awas Yojana, with beneficiaries drawn from multiple slum clusters spread across Bhubaneswar. Urban officials said the exercise reflects a shift from temporary rehabilitation towards long-term housing security, particularly for households affected by infrastructure expansion and redevelopment projects. Located within the Chandrasekharpur Budhvihar Housing Project, the newly allotted units are part of a larger, phased development that aims to consolidate scattered slum populations into organised residential clusters. According to senior officials involved in the programme, the site has been planned to support vertical development, allowing more families to be accommodated within limited urban land while ensuring access to basic services.
Beyond the immediate allotment, the municipal administration has outlined plans to integrate livelihood support and social infrastructure into the housing project. This includes provisions for commercial spaces within nearby market complexes, intended to help residents generate stable incomes and reduce dependence on informal or precarious work. Officials overseeing urban welfare programmes said such integration is critical to ensuring that housing initiatives translate into sustained improvements in living standards. The administration has also indicated that education and primary healthcare services will be extended to the beneficiary families, recognising that housing stability alone is insufficient without access to essential public services. Urban planners note that this approach aligns with emerging best practices in inclusive city development, where housing, employment and social infrastructure are planned together rather than in isolation.
To maintain transparency and fairness, homes were allotted through a lottery system conducted in the presence of beneficiaries and civic representatives. Municipal authorities have made it clear that strict verification processes are in place and that any misuse of the scheme through false claims will invite eviction and legal action. Such safeguards, officials say, are necessary to preserve public trust in large-scale housing programmes. The latest allotment also reflects a broader trend across Indian cities, where local governments are under increasing pressure to balance redevelopment, infrastructure growth and social equity. As Bhubaneswar continues to expand as an administrative and economic hub, sustained investment in affordable housing will be central to preventing the proliferation of new informal settlements.
Urban officials say further allotments are planned as additional housing blocks near completion, signalling that the city’s housing strategy is gradually moving from one-off interventions to a more structured, long-term response to urban housing demand.
Bhubaneswar Housing Push Delivers Secure Homes to 167 Households
