Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Urban Housing Mission (OUHM) secured approval for 75 housing projects across 72 urban local bodies (ULBs), paving the way for construction of 6,871 dwelling units under the Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC) vertical of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–Urban (PMAY-U) 2.0.The projects, sanctioned in the 6th state-level sanctioning and monitoring committee (SLSMC) meeting, carry a combined investment of Rs 446.61 crore. Of this, the Centre will provide Rs 103.06 crore, while the state govt will contribute Rs 68.71 crore. The beneficiaries are to pay Rs 4 lakh per unit.Beneficiaries are expected to share Rs 274.84 crore, as per tentative guidelines from the ministry of housing and urban affairs. Satish Chandra Singh, joint secretary, housing and urban development department, shared the details of the housing units approved per ULB with the ministry for further approval.Among the major approvals, Sambalpur Municipal Corporation tops the list with 700 houses at a cost of Rs 45.5 crore, followed by Jagatsinghapur municipality, 360 houses at Rs 23.4 crore, and Anandapur municipality in Keonjhar with 387 houses at an investment of Rs 25.15 crore.The chief secretary of Odisha cleared the minutes on Jan 6, 2025, and the proposals will now be placed before the central sanctioning and monitoring committee (CSMC) for final approval. “Once sanctioned at the ministry level, the work at the ground level here will begin,” a housing and urban development official said.Officials said the initiative will significantly boost affordable housing for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in urban areas. In recent years, Bhubaneswar witnessed the execution of major projects under PMAY-U, which includes affordable housing and beneficiary-led construction projects.“With the second leg of the PMAY-U coming under implementation, our priority will remain on the coverage of uncovered urban areas into the scheme’s fold. Accordingly, ULBs like Sambalpur, Jagatsinghpur, and Keonjhar are tasked with submitting lists and completing the housing projects,” the official added.Notably, the Centre approved 1.84 lakh houses under PMAY-U, with the implementation period being June 2015 to Dec 2025. During the period, the state govt completed the construction of 1.36 lakh houses, most of which were covered under the BLC vertical. Currently, the remaining 48,000 houses under the first leg of the scheme remain incomplete and are slated to be funded by the state.
