Ensure 25 pc of annual budget is spent on slum development: Odisha govt to ULBs

The Odisha government on Thursday directed officials of all urban local bodies (ULBs) in the state to ensure that 25 per cent of their respective annual budgets are spent on development of slums under their jurisdiction.

An August 2020 amendment to the Odisha Municipal Act, 1950 and Odisha Municipal Corporation Act, 2003 made it mandatory for ULBs to spend 25 per cent of their respective budgets on providing basic amenities and infrastructure in the slums.

Director Municipal Administration (DMA) Sangramjit Nayak, in a letter to the authorities of all the 114 ULBs in the state, asked them to take the amendment into consideration while preparing their annual budgets.

He asked the ULB officials to regularly monitor the spending and assign quarterly targets.

As per the Housing and Urban Development Department's estimates, Rs 2,895 crore (excluding salaries) will be allocated to the 114 ULBs during the two financial years 2020 -21 and 2021-22, of which Rs 723.75 crore has to be spent on slum development.

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