Balangir: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday urged the Centre to sanction an additional one lakh houses for the state under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), highlighting the government’s efforts to ensure pucca houses for all eligible rural families.
Addressing a housing scheme programme in Balangir in the presence of Union Rural Development and Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Majhi said providing safe and permanent housing to every rural household remained a key priority of his government.
He said more than 41 lakh pucca houses had been completed in Odisha under various rural housing schemes since 2014-15, including over 5.66 lakh houses in the last two years.
Of the 28.06 lakh houses sanctioned for Odisha under PMAY-G, construction of 25.58 lakh houses has been completed, he said, adding that beneficiaries were also being provided with basic amenities such as toilets, piped drinking water, cooking gas and electricity.
Referring to the Awaas Plus 2024 survey conducted between January and May 2025, the Chief Minister said the Centre had earlier sanctioned four lakh additional houses for Odisha and had now approved another one lakh for 2026-27, taking the total to five lakh. He requested the Union Minister to consider sanctioning a further one lakh houses.
Under the PM-JANMAN scheme, 35,635 of the 41,075 houses sanctioned for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) families have been completed, Majhi said.
He also highlighted the state’s Antyodaya Griha Yojana, launched on March 30, 2025, under which 1.47 lakh houses have been completed against 2.25 lakh sanctioned. The scheme covers Forest Rights Act title holders, families with differently-abled breadwinners, destitute women and widows.
The scheme’s tenure has been extended by two years until 2029, enabling the construction of 2,91,666 additional houses, he said. Beneficiaries completing construction within five months are being given an incentive of Rs 35,000, while those completing it within seven months receive Rs 20,000. So far, 11.35 lakh beneficiaries have benefited from such incentives, he added.
Chouhan, addressing the gathering, said he had come to Odisha not as a guest but as a public servant. He announced that every village in the state would be connected by pucca roads and said the Centre would continue extending housing assistance to Odisha.
He also announced that a pilot initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for poverty eradication across states would commence from Balangir.
Referring to agriculture, the Union Minister stressed the need to integrate traditional farming practices with modern technology and skills. He expressed confidence that the newly established agricultural university in Balangir would emerge as one of the country’s leading institutions.
Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo called for promoting agri-tourism and expanding the use of solar panels in agriculture. He said efforts would be made to link PMAY houses with the PM Surya Ghar scheme to facilitate rooftop solar installations.
Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Minister Rabi Narayan Naik and Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling also highlighted the government’s housing, drinking water, road connectivity and rural infrastructure initiatives.
Earlier, Majhi inaugurated 160 development projects worth around Rs 176 crore and laid foundation stones for 88 projects estimated at Rs 735 crore in Balangir district. The 248 projects, together valued at approximately Rs 911 crore, cover healthcare infrastructure, drinking water supply, irrigation, anganwadi centres, additional classrooms, roads and hostels.
The programme was held at the shrine of Maa Patneswari and was attended by Balangir MP Sangeeta Singh Deo, local MLAs, senior officials and other public representatives.
