Bhubaneswar: In a bid to address the growing demand for affordable housing, the Odisha government has announced a new housing scheme in Bhubaneswar with homes priced between ₹15 lakh and ₹50 lakh, primarily targeting economically weaker sections (EWS) and middle-income groups (MIG). The initiative aims to make home ownership a reality for thousands of urban families struggling with soaring real estate prices.
Housing and Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra informed that the new scheme will include homes under various categories—MIG, LIG, LIG-I, and MIG-II—and will be allocated through a lottery system to ensure transparency. Specific eligibility criteria will be framed to ensure that only genuine beneficiaries from targeted income groups can apply.
The housing units will be developed on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, with plans to expand similar projects to Cuttack soon. In its first phase, the scheme will focus on urban municipal areas. To fast-track development and ensure financial sustainability, the project will be implemented through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
To streamline operations, the government will collaborate with cooperative banks, which will monitor the housing units and facilitate EMI collection from the allottees.
In addition to homeownership, the state is also considering the development of rental housing to curb the growth of slum settlements, which have expanded due to a lack of affordable housing options, the minister noted.
Mahapatra further highlighted the government’s renewed focus on the Town Planning (TP) scheme, which aims to deliver planned infrastructure—including roads, drainage, sewage systems, and street lighting. While this work is already underway in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, similar infrastructure upgrades are being planned for Puri in the near future.
