Bhubaneswar, August 1: The Odisha Cabinet on Saturday approved a proposal to amend the Odisha Development Authority (ODA) Act, 1982, paving the way for the establishment of Economic Region Development Authorities (ERDAs) to oversee the integrated development of large urban and industrial corridors across the state.

The Cabinet cleared the proposed Odisha Development Authorities (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to provide a statutory framework for the constitution and administration of ERDAs. The move is aimed at enabling coordinated planning, governance and infrastructure development across multi-district economic regions in line with Odisha's Vision 2036 and Vision 2047, where urbanisation has been identified as a key engine of economic growth.

Under the amendment, the ODA Act will introduce the definitions of "Economic Region" and "Economic Region Development Authority" and insert a new Chapter IIA, empowering the state government to notify and establish ERDAs without the need for separate legislation for each economic region.

According to officials, the new framework will facilitate integrated planning beyond municipal boundaries by enabling the preparation of region-specific economic and master plans. It is expected to attract investments, create employment opportunities, improve housing, strengthen urban mobility, enhance public services and ensure coordinated infrastructure development across interconnected urban centres.

As part of its long-term urban development strategy, the state has identified several economic clusters for phased development. These include the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Paradip Economic Region (BKPPER), Bargarh-Jharsuguda-Sambalpur, Berhampur-Chhatrapur-Gopalpur, and Jeypore-Koraput-Sunabeda.

The Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Paradip Economic Region has been selected as the pilot project, with its economic development plan prepared in collaboration with NITI Aayog. The region integrates ports, industrial clusters, urban centres, logistics infrastructure and major religious and cultural destinations into a single economic corridor.

The state government said the proposed institutional framework would ensure seamless coordination among multiple development authorities operating within the same economic region while promoting integrated governance of large urban and industrial corridors.

The proposal also aligns with the Union Budget 2026-27, which identified four City Economic Regions as future engines of economic growth. The Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Paradip Economic Region is among the four selected regions, alongside Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh,Surat in Gujarat and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

Once the Odisha Legislative Assembly passes the amendment bill, the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Paradip Economic Region is expected to become Odisha's first Economic Region Development Authority, marking a major milestone in the state's integrated urban and industrial development agenda.