Odisha govt to upgrade 253 slums in urban forest land

The Odisha government told the media that the standard operating procedure (SOP) was successfully implemented for upgrading slums under Dhenkanal municipality under Jaga Mission. It asked the Housing and Urban Development department and the district collectors to complete the upgradation of the slums by the end of December 2022. Suresh Mahapatra, Chief Secretary, while addressing the workshop on Diversion of forest land for the creation of basic infrastructure in slums under Jaga Mission, gave this task to the department. Director of Municipal Administration, Sangaramjeet Nayak, said that the SOP worked out well through a joint venture (JV) of Forest and Urban Development departments, piloted in the Dhenkanal Municipality. According to the Urban Slum Household Areas (USHA) survey, 253 slums were identified across 45 Urban Local Body's (ULBs) in 22 districts in urban forest land. He said that it was causing a problem for the settlement of land rights and laying the infrastructure for slums. Image Source