Odisha Orders Fast-Track Land Allotment for Landless Families Under PM Housing Schemes
Districts asked to prioritise house-site distribution as thousands await land allocation
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has issued a strong directive to all district administrations to quickly allot land to landless families who have been sanctioned houses under central rural housing schemes. The Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department has instructed district collectors to treat the matter as a top priority and ensure that eligible landless beneficiaries receive suitable house sites without delay.
According to official reports, 871 beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–Gramin (PMAY-G) and 50 under PM-JANMAN have not yet been allotted land, even though their houses were approved earlier.
Additionally, during the Awaas+ 2024 survey conducted under PMAY-G, a massive 2.01 lakh households were identified as landless out of the 37.89 lakh surveyed. These families require land before construction of their sanctioned homes can begin.
The survey revealed significant district-wise variations, with some regions recording exceptionally high numbers of landless families.
The top seven districts are:
- Rayagada – 21,869 landless households
- Jajpur – 16,232
- Nabarangpur – 13,535
- Bargarh – 12,595
- Ganjam – 11,929
- Balasore – 11,024
- Koraput – 10,826
Officials believe that early land allocation will help speed up the implementation of the rural housing schemes and support vulnerable families who have no land of their own.
Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the department, Girish SN, stated that while the sanction of new houses for recently identified eligible families will begin only after approval from the Ministry of Rural Development, the work of providing land to existing landless beneficiaries must begin immediately.
He informed districts that the list of landless households, compiled at the Gram Panchayat level, has already been uploaded on AwaasSoft, the official housing portal. Collectors can now access the data directly and start the process of identifying and allocating suitable land parcels.
To ensure faster resolution of land-related bottlenecks, district collectors have been directed to hold joint meetings with BDOs and tehsildars on the first Saturday of every month. These meetings will focus on clearing pending cases, identifying new sites, and completing land transfer processes.
Officials say this time-bound approach will help achieve the broader goal of “Housing for All” and ensure that the most vulnerable families receive proper shelter.
With the state stepping up efforts, the government aims to close long-standing gaps in land allocation and accelerate rural housing construction across Odisha.
