Odisha: ULB wards to get parks, gyms & paver roads by year-end

BHUBANESWAR, Odisha: Parks, gyms, paver roads, open spaces and drainages are to be built in wards of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Odisha by the end of December this year.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has extended the deadline under the Mukhya Mantri Karma Tatpara Abhiyan (MUKTA). G Mathivathanan, Principal Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development, asked the concerned officials to ensure the availability of five basic amenities in 2,055 wards of 115 ULBs in the state by the end of this year.

Mathivathanan, while addressing a state-level orientation programme, spoke to coordinators and community organisers of the MUKTA scheme and said, “You all have to strive to achieve speed and scale without compromising on quality and transparency in the implementation of this project.”

Professionals engaged under the MUKTA scheme would have to comply with the SOP of the scheme, which demands a community-driven, participatory, and bottom-up approach in addition to the principles of transparency and accountability throughout the period of execution of the project. Mathivathanan cautioned, “Those failing to perform will find no place in our team.”

As per the officials, around 52,500 projects have been implemented across 115 ULBs in Odisha as part of the MUKTA scheme. Employment of over 62 lakh man-days has been generated under the scheme, thus benefitting around six lakh migrants and urban poor in the state. Interestingly 40 per cent of these beneficiaries consist of women.

Apart from that, around 36,000 rainwater harvesting systems have also been built in different ULBs with the help of 26,455 Mission Shakti Groups and slum dweller associations as part of the scheme.

Sangramjit Nayak, Director of Municipal Administration, while speaking about the visions and objectives of the capacity-building programme, said, “Community organisers and Mukta professionals in the ULBs play a key role in providing techno-managerial support and extending end-to-end facilitation support to Mission Shakti groups and slum dweller associations for smooth execution of the scheme.”

Sarada Prasad Panda, Joint Secretary and Mukta nodal officer, said that the scheme was launched during the pandemic to create mass employment opportunities for migrant workers and other informal sector workers. This scheme aims to provide a socio-economic safety net to these workers making it an inclusive programme in line with the 5T mantra of governance outlined by Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik.