Sahajog: Empowering Odisha's Urban Poor

The Odisha government has launched Sahajog, a unique program to facilitate access to government welfare schemes for the urban poor. The initiative aims to identify eligible beneficiaries and connect them to various schemes through mass awareness and doorstep service delivery. It will first cover urban areas before extending to rural communities.

The Odisha government has unveiled 'Sahajog', an unprecedented initiative to bridge the gap between government welfare schemes and the state's urban poor. Officially launched by Housing and Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra in Bhubaneswar, Sahajog seeks to ensure last-mile delivery by identifying eligible beneficiaries in urban poor communities.

The program, which is scheduled to operate in campaign mode from May 1 to June 20, emphasizes mass awareness, doorstep service delivery, and strengthened implementation mechanisms at the Urban Local Body (ULB) and district levels. Housing support under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) will act as an entry point for delivering further benefits to eligible families.

The campaign initially covers over 15 lakh individuals across 44 ULBs in eight districts, with plans to develop a mobile app for connecting beneficiaries directly to the schemes. After urban areas, the initiative will extend to rural beneficiaries, authorities revealed.

(With inputs from agencies.)