Odisha extends PMAY-Urban challenge to March end

The deadline for the '100 Days Challenge' for urban local bodies (ULBs) to complete houses under PM Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) has been extended by the housing and urban development department until March 31, as opposed to the earlier deadline of March 4. The challenge was initiated by the department on November 24, 2023, with the intention of rewarding the best performing ULBs in grounding housing projects under PMAY-U. The primary goal was to instill a competitive spirit among ULBs to finish the houses sanctioned under the central scheme within a specified time frame before its closure in December of the same year. Debasis Singh, the Director of Housing, communicated the revised deadline to all municipal commissioners and executive officers, explaining that multiple central and state programs running concurrently during the challenge period led to schedule overlapping. Due to these constraints, the ongoing 100 Days Challenge has been extended until the end of the financial year. In a letter, he mentioned, There are multiple central and state programs running concurrently during the challenge period that has resulted in overlapping of the schedule. Considering the constraints, the period of the ongoing 100 Days Challenge is being extended up to the end of this financial year. For the challenge, the 115 ULBs in the state have been categorized into three groups. ULBs with more than 750 housing units in progress fall into category A, those with units between 250 and 750 are in category B, and those with less than 250 units are placed in category C.