Bhubaneswar: The Urban Transformative journey have experienced significant strides in recent years. Rs 7914 crore is provisioned in the Budget 2023-24 for Housing & Urban Development Department, which is commitment to enhance the liveability of the urban areas by providing all advanced civic amenities across all wards in all 115 Urban Local Bodies of the state. The impact in transforming the lives is evident from the quantum jump in the budgetary allocation for the urban development which has gone 28 times from Rs 276 crore in FY 2000-2001 to Rs 7914 crore in FY 2023- 2024.
The key thrust areas wherein budget have been allocated is for Urban Water Supply Rs 2400 cr, Inclusive Urban Development and transforming cities for making its more liveable and lovable Rs 2345cr, State wide Decentralised Sanitation & Drainage Management Rs 1307 cr and for Urban Housing Rs 609 cr.
To realize the dream of Hon’ble CM to provide safe and clean drinking water through pipe water house connection to every household. So far 85 cities including all five corporations namely Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur & Rourkela have achieved tap connection to 100% households and the remaining 30 cities would achieved this by December 2023.
Drink from Tap mission is implemented to bring the water supply service standards on par with international cities like New York, Tokyo, Singapore and London. Puri & Gopalpur have become India’s 1st and 2nd cities to achieve this distinction and the implementation is going on in another 21 cities which will be completed by March 2024 benefiting 40 lakhs urban population. Execution of Drink from tap mission will be completed in Berhampur by June 2023 & in the remaining cities including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack & Rourkela by December 2023. An amount of Rs 2400 crore is provisioned for the Urban Water Sector for FY 2023-24. WATCO bagged the distinction of Global Water Leader Award in the Global Water Summit held in Spain in 2022, Odisha has achieved the distinction of being the 1st state in the country to provide the 24 X 7 Drink from Tap quality water.
Recognizing the crucial role of slum dwellers in building and sustaining cities this government is implementing JAGA mission to provide Land Rights and transform the slums to Adarsh colonies. So far more than 1.73 lakhs slum families are granted with land right certificates and another 1 lakhs families living in the five Municipal Corporation, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Rourkela and Sambalpur will be issued Land Right Certificates by Dec 2023. To improve the liveability of slum dwellers, slums are transformed into Adarsh Colonies with all infrastructure, amenities and services at par with rest of the cities. So far 725 slums are upgraded as Adarsh Colonies and two towns namely Hinjiliut and Digapahandi have achieved slum free status. The state is fast moving towards achieving slum free status in all the ULBs by March 2024. Odisha’s JAGA mission as World’s largest slum land rights and upgradation programme has successfully demonstrated that eviction is not the way to resolve the slum issues rather empowerment is by winning two UN Habitat- World Habitat awards in 2019 and 2023.
The Government is implementing the Mukhyamantri Karma Tatpara Abhiyan (MUKTA) an Urban Wage Employment scheme for urban poor which is implemented across 115 ULBs of the state through Community Partnership model involving the Mission Shakti SHGs and the Slum Dweller Associations. 52000 projects have been extensively implemented which includes advanced civic amenities, city beautification, rain water harvesting etc. So far 62 lakhs person days have been generated. MUKTA scheme have bagged two Global Accloades the WRI Ross Prize for Cities 2022 and the Guangzhou International Award 2021.
The Government have also planned for developing Kalyan Mandaps across all ULBs of the state under Unnati. Municipal Corporation will have 10 each, for Municipalities 4 each and for Notified area councils 2 each.
