Balangir, November 14: In a major boost to rural housing in Odisha, the Centre has approved one lakh additional houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), raising the state's total allocation to five lakh this fiscal.

Union Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the additional allocation during a programme in Balangir on Saturday, where Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi distributed sanction letters to the beneficiaries.

Chouhan said the earlier allocation of over four lakh houses was inadequate to meet the housing needs of eligible families in the state. Considering the requirement, the Centre has increased the allocation to five lakh houses.

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He said the government was committed to ensuring that no eligible poor family in Odisha was deprived of a permanent home. The objective is to provide pucca houses to families living in kutcha houses or inadequate housing conditions.

The Union Minister assured that the Centre, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and in coordination with the Odisha government, would extend the necessary financial assistance for constructing permanent houses.

“More houses would be sanctioned for Odisha in the coming years. Every village in the state would be connected through all-weather pucca roads,” Chouhan said.

Praising Chief Minister Majhi, he said the Centre and the state government would work together to ensure that all eligible beneficiaries receive the benefits of PMAY-G without errors or exclusion.

Chouhan also appreciated the installation of rooftop solar panels in Balangir and lauded Odisha's progress in creating 29 lakh Lakhpati Didis.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said more than 41 lakh pucca houses had been completed in Odisha under various rural housing schemes since the 2014-15 financial year.

Of these, over 5.66 lakh houses were completed in the last two years, he said.

Under PMAY-G, Odisha has received sanctions for 28.06 lakh houses, of which 25.58 lakh have already been completed. The scheme also aims to provide beneficiaries with access to essential facilities such as toilets, piped drinking water, cooking gas and electricity.

The Chief Minister thanked the Centre for approving an additional one lakh houses for Odisha for the 2026-27 financial year, saying the increased allocation would help extend housing benefits to more eligible rural families across the state.