Odisha will construct 2.92 lakh additional houses under the Antyodaya Gruha Yojana after the state government extended the rural housing scheme by two years to 2029 and redirected funds from repairs towards new construction.
Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced the decisions on Thursday, saying the expansion would help the state provide permanent housing to more eligible families in rural areas. The government has retained the scheme’s overall project cost at Rs 7,550 crore.
Under the revised plan, Rs 3,500 crore earlier earmarked for the repair component will be diverted to the construction of new houses. The change is intended to expand beneficiary coverage without increasing the programme’s total project cost.
Officials said the additional beneficiaries would include households that had received housing assistance of Rs 48,500 or less, as well as other eligible families left out of existing housing schemes. The Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department has been directed to conduct a fresh survey to identify households that can be included in the expanded programme.
The scheme was originally designed to construct houses for five lakh families. It primarily supports economically weaker households that were not considered eligible under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and continue to live in vulnerable conditions.
The state has also increased incentives for beneficiaries who complete construction within specified timelines. Those completing their houses within five months will now receive an incentive of Rs 35,000, up from Rs 20,000. The incentive for completing construction within seven months has been doubled to Rs 20,000 from Rs 10,000.
The revised incentives are aimed at speeding up construction and helping beneficiaries complete houses within the scheme’s prescribed timelines. The government said the changes would allow a larger number of poor and deprived households to access housing assistance.
The fresh survey will determine which families are added to the programme, while the diversion of repair funds will shape how the retained Rs 7,550-crore project cost is deployed. The scheme’s tenure will now continue until 2029, giving the state additional time to complete the expanded housing target.
