Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has announced a special package of Rs 560 crore for 28 newly-formed Notified Area Councils (NACs) in Odisha. The Chief Minister made this announcement during the celebration of State-level Local Self-Government Day-2026 in the capital city here on Monday.
Majhi also launched altogether 593 development projects worth Rs 323 crore across 62 urban local bodies (ULBs) in the state. He inaugurated a total of 423 projects worth Rs 102 crore and laid foundation stones for 170 projects worth Rs 221 crore.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said cities should not be viewed merely as places of residence, but as centres of employment, entrepreneurship, education and prosperity. “Our cities must be developed as economic centres where the younger generation gets new opportunities, entrepreneurs can grow and new employment opportunities are created,” he stated.
Under the special package announced for the 28 newly formed NACs, each such local body will receive Rs 20 crore for development work. The funds will be utilised for infrastructure development, including roads, drainage systems, markets and other civic facilities.
Emphasizing citizen-centric governance, Majhi directed officials and employees of urban local bodies to provide services to citizens with dignity and respect. He called for wider use of technology, simplification of procedures and time-bound resolution of public grievances to bring about a change in the working culture of municipal institutions.
The Chief Minister also urged urban local bodies to work towards making every city an engine of Odisha’s economic growth.
On the occasion, several institutional initiatives were also launched. Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were signed between the Odisha Urban Academy and Sri Sri University, the Indian School of Business and the National Institute of Urban Affairs for capacity building of urban local bodies. An MoU was also signed between CRUT and Sri Sri University.
The Chief Minister further launched OSWAN Video Conferencing facilities in 115 urban local bodies, along with the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–Bandhu initiative and the Odisha Yatri SOS App.
Majhi thanked and congratulated municipal employees, Swachh Sathis, Jal Sathis, sanitation workers and CRUT employees for their dedicated services.
Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra extended his greetings on Local Self-Government Day and said that since the present government assumed office, 28 new NACs and seven new municipalities had been created, while Puri had been accorded the status of a municipal corporation.
The government, he said, was giving equal importance to infrastructure development not only in major cities but also in smaller NACs and municipalities. He also called for collective efforts to build a clean and addiction-free Odisha.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg said Odisha has set a target of 40 per cent urbanization by 2036 and 60 per cent by 2047.