The Odisha government has cleared a bill to create Economic Region Development Authority (ERDA) institutions aimed at coordinated planning and implementation across broader economic geographies. The amendment to the Odisha Development Authority Act (ODA Act) proposes new definitions for economic region and economic region development authority and inserts a new Chapter IIA to enable notification and constitution of ERDAs without a fresh legislative amendment each time. The measure is intended to provide an overarching statutory institution to bridge gaps between multiple existing development authorities and to improve coherence in regional planning.

The chief secretary said an economic plan has already been prepared for the BKPPER region in collaboration with NITI Aayog and that the area is being treated as a pilot for the new institutional framework. She noted that the Union Budget 2026–27 identified four city economic regions as engines of growth and listed BKPPER alongside Varanasi, Surat and Visakhapatnam. The proposed ERDAs are designed to provide seamless coordination among various development authorities operating within a region to speed up decision-making and project delivery.

Once the amendment secures approval from the Legislative Assembly, BKPPER will become the state's first formally constituted Economic Region Development Authority, bringing the state capital, major urban centres, the Paradip port, industrial hubs, logistics infrastructure and key religious and cultural destinations into a single economic geography. Officials expect the consolidation to accelerate investment and infrastructure creation while enhancing regional competitiveness. The regional approach is intended to attract investment, generate employment and improve housing, mobility and public services across municipal boundaries. The framework aims to leverage complementary strengths of constituent cities to plan at scale and address shared challenges.

The amendment therefore establishes a durable and scalable legal framework capable of supporting long-term urban and industrial expansion and will allow the state to constitute future ERDAs as economic regions emerge. This is expected to reduce the need for piecemeal legislative changes and to provide continuity for regional master plans and implementation programmes. The government will proceed with the legislative process and subsequent notifications to operationalise the new authorities once the bill is enacted.