BHUBANESWAR: The Government of Odisha on Monday, January 3, asked the Housing and Urban Development Department, Government of Odisha, and district collectors to complete upgradation of all identified slums by the end of this year. The decision was taken following the successful implementation of standard operating procedure (SOP) for upgradation of slums under Dhenkanal municipality under Jaga Mission.
While speaking at a workshop on ‘Diversion of forest land for the building of basic infrastructure in slums under Jaga Mission,’ Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra assigned the responsibility to the department. Sangramjeet Nayak, Director, Municipal Administration, said that the SOP, which was developed through a joint initiative of the Telangana Forest Department and Urban Development department, was piloted in the Dhenkanal municipality and was a complete success.
According to the urban slum household areas survey, 253 slums were discovered in urban forest land throughout 45 ULBs in 22 districts. This is causing issues with the settlement of slum inhabitants’ land rights and the construction of basic infrastructure.