Centre sanctions additional houses for vulnerable tribals

The Ministry has also sanctioned Rs 20.99 crore, the 50% Central share as the first installment for the construction of these additional houses, a letter from Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said.

The letter further noted, the allocation was over and above the normal allocation of Indira Awaas Yojana to the State. The Ministry has so far released the first installment of Rs 306.03cr under State’s normal IAY allocation for the current year in which 1,28,057 houses will be constructed, it said.

Ramesh in his letter stated the State Government earlier this month had requested the Ministry for the sanction of additional houses for Chakotia Bhunjia and Dongria Kondh families in Sunabeda Reserve Forest area (Nuapada district) and Bissamcuttack, Kalyansinghpur and Muniguda blocks (Rayagada district).

Earlier this month, the Ministry had cleared Odisha Government’s Rs 1078.72 crore worth proposal for the construction of roads and bridges under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).