Bhubaneswar: A new milestone was achieved on Thursday in the history of urban development in Odisha with the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launching several facilities for the city dwellers, such as drinking water facilities, ‘Drink from Tap’, paved road, sewerage system, and many civic amenities along with land rights and Biju Adarsh Colony.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister said that the city is the mirror of the development of a state. Prosperous cities indicate the prosperity of the state. He said that all these development programmes under the 5T initiative have improved the standard of living of the people and they will help in achieving our sustainable development goals.
It is worth noting here that today the Chief Minister issued land right certificates to 21,427 families living in four cities of the state, namely Cuttack, Sambalpur, Berhampur, and Rourkela. Along with this, 626 Biju Adarsh Colonies were established in 26 cities of the state. Two lakh families benefited from this. Along with this, 26 cities were depopulated and like others in the city, they also had access to all the basic amenities.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister said that the ‘Drink from Tap’ programme of Odisha is a model for the whole country in the field of urban development. All families of Brahampur city are getting a 24/7 ‘Drink from Tap’ facility from today. Along with this, ‘Drink from Tap’ facilities have been set up in eight cities of the state, he said. Patnaik said that this is a big step in the development of a global standard public health system in the state and said that good drinking water solves 50 per cent of health problems.
Emphasising on sanitation, the Chief Minister said that in Gandhiji’s words “it is more important than freedom”. “Today I am very happy to dedicate the Odisha Integrated Sanitation Improvement Project for Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. A total of Rs 4,000 crore has been spent with the help of JICA. The Chief Minister said that the underground sewerage system, new sewage treatment plant, and improved drainage facilities in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack will further brighten the identity of our city.”
On the occasion of launching the drinking water project, the Chief Minister said that today drinking water projects have been started in many cities, including Jharsuguda, Brijrajnagar, and Belpahad. A total of 2.65 lakh residents will benefit from this. Additionally, 3,699 new paved roads and 6,961 civic amenity projects were dedicated in various cities according to the improvement and rehabilitation plan. Expressing happiness over the implementation of the MUKTA Yojana, the Chief Minister said that in our MUKTA Yojana, all the work is being done by the mothers and they are doing it well.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister laid the foundation for 27 water supply projects worth Rs 164 crore in 24 cities of the state.
Usha Devi, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, attended the program and said that to date 2.35 lakh families have been given land right certificates and 1,636 settlements have been converted into Biju Adarsh Colony. In addition, 21,427 families of four metropolitan corporations were given land ownership certificates. Along with this, the drinking water project, ‘Drink from Tap’ project, and various urban development programmes have been launched as per the improvement plan. All these projects have been completed under the 5T initiative.
The beneficiaries who received land title certificates in the programme include Satavama Naik from Cuttack, Nikhila Parida from Sambalpur, Rosalin Raut from Rourkela, and Banita Ghadei from Berhampur. They narrated their experiences and said that for many years they lived in the slums with lots of hardship. There was also fear in the mind that they would be evicted from their houses. Today, they said the Chief Minister has removed the fear from their minds by issuing the land certificate. “The Chief Minister spoke to keep us in the facility. He kept his word. We express our gratitude and thanks to the Chief Minister and 5T Chairman for this,” they added.
Similarly, ‘Drink from Tap’ beneficiary of Berhampur, Jayanthi Goud, said that there were many problems with drinking water in Berhampur. “Now we will get drinking water for 24 hours because of the Chief Minister. They expressed their gratitude and thanks to the Chief Minister and 5T Chairman for providing clean drinking water.
G Mathi Vathanan, Additional Chief Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, delivered the welcome address and the Director of Urban Administration gave the vote of thanks.
