Creating a new urban body on paper is easy. Making it feel like a town is harder. That is the gap the Odisha government is now trying to close with a ₹560 crore special development package for 28 newly formed Notified Area Councils (NACs).
Each NAC will receive ₹20 crore for basic infrastructure and modern civic amenities — roads and drains, municipal offices, markets, parks, street lighting, sanitation and community facilities. The idea is straightforward: if an area has been notified as urban, residents should not have to wait years for the look and feel of a functioning town.
Housing and Urban Development Minister Dr. Krushna Chandra Mahapatra said the government’s priority is not merely expanding administrative boundaries. “Development of the newly formed NACs is our government’s priority. The goal is not only to expand the administrative area, but to deliver quality civic amenities in these regions,” he said. “Through this special development package, essential infrastructure will be created in every new NAC. By giving importance to roads, drainage, sanitation, haats, parks, lighting and other civic facilities, these urban areas will be made beautiful, clean and well-equipped.”
The package was first announced by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi during the state-level Local Self-Government Day celebrations. Officials have now spelled out how the ₹20 crore for each NAC is expected to be used.
How ₹20 crore per NAC will be spent
- Municipal office building: ₹6.40 crore
- Roads and drains: ₹3 crore
- Model market complex: ₹2 crore
- Model urban haat: ₹1 crore
- Parks, open spaces, community toilets and other community infrastructure: ₹3 crore
- Development and beautification of water bodies: ₹1 crore
- Street lighting: ₹1 crore
- Sanitation infrastructure: ₹1 crore
- Crematorium: ₹60 lakh
- EV charging station: ₹50 lakh
- Cattle pound and stray-animal welfare infrastructure: ₹50 lakh
A second urban push under the Chief Minister’s scheme
Alongside the NAC package, the government has rolled out 593 projects worth ₹323 crore in 62 urban local bodies under the Mukhyamantri Sahari Bikash Yojana. Of these, 423 projects worth ₹102 crore have been inaugurated and foundation stones have been laid for 170 projects worth ₹221 crore. Combined with the ₹560 crore NAC package, the urban outlay highlighted this week comes to ₹883 crore.
Officials say the larger aim is inclusive and organised urbanisation under the *Viksit Odisha–2036* vision: towns that are not just administratively urban, but planned, clean and equipped for everyday life.
Whether the money turns into usable streets, working drains and busy haats will depend on execution. On paper, though, Odisha has drawn a clear line — a new NAC should begin with infrastructure, not only a notification.
