In a major push to achieve “Housing for All” in rural Odisha, the Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department has warned that no delay will be tolerated in providing land to eligible landless beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) and other housing schemes.
A strongly worded letter issued by Department Commissioner-cum-Secretary Girish S.N., IAS, on Saturday has directed all District Collectors to immediately allot land on a priority basis to every eligible landless family identified in the Awas+ 2024 survey. The letter makes it mandatory for Block Development Officers (BDOs) and Tehsildars to hold a joint review meeting on the first Saturday of every month, exclusively to resolve pending land issues of landless beneficiaries.
As per the Awas+ 2024 survey, out of 37.89 lakh rural families surveyed in the state, a staggering 2,01,011 families have been identified as completely landless. The department has made it clear that house sanction under the new phase of Awas+ will begin only after Central approval, but allotment of homestead land to these eligible families must be completed without waiting for that approval.
The letter highlighted that even under the ongoing PMAY-G scheme, 871 beneficiaries and under PM-JANMAN scheme, 50 particularly vulnerable tribal beneficiaries are yet to receive land. Kendrapara district tops the list with 271 pending landless PMAY-G beneficiaries, followed by Ganjam with 171.
Collectors have been asked to submit positive compliance reports within the stipulated timeline and ensure monthly progress is uploaded. The department reiterated that achieving “Housing for All” will remain incomplete until every eligible landless family gets homestead land without further delay.
