Odisha to launch housing mission for poor

Bhubaneswar, Jan 6 (IANS) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday said the state government will launch Shelter Security Mission to provide low cost and affordable housing facilities to the poor.

The housing mission, which has a projected outlay of Rs. 15,000 crore to Rs. 20,000 crore, will provide affordable accommodation to both the rural and urban poor.

"The government will shortly launch its shelter security mission. The mission will be directly monitored by me and encompass both urban and rural areas," said Patnaik, inaugurating a two-day conference of district collectors here.

The chief minister further said the government will convert all kutcha (mud) houses in the state to pucca (brick) houses in five years under the mission and it would require construction of more than five lakh houses every year.

He said the government will leave no stone unturned to mobilise funds for this mission.

"I am confident that the machinery which in the past had set global benchmarks in handling a disaster like Phailin will be able to deliver. This is a huge task but if all of us work in a team with intelligence, hard work and sincerity, we should be able to do this," said Patnaik.

"One of the bottlenecks in implementation of rural housing schemes in the past is the completion ratio. In order to overcome this and facilitate speedy completion of houses with an objective of 'zero incomplete houses', the state government decided to provide a cash incentive of Rs 10,000 for houses that are completed within four months from the date of issue of work order and release of first instalment," said Patnaik.

He said those who complete houses in six month's time can get a cash incentive of Rs 5,000, of which, Rs 500 will go to the government functionaries who monitored and supervised the construction work.

Besides, cash incentives and awards will be instituted for Gram Panchayats, blocks and districts performing well in Biju Pucca Ghar scheme, said the chief minister adding that a fund of Rs. 10 to Rs.30 lakh will be provided annually to each district collector, on the basis of the number of blocks in the district.