A 5T effort was launched with the goal of raising metropolitan regions in Odisha’s water supply service standards to parity with those of major global cities.
By March 2024, the state government hopes to expand its “Drink from Tap” programme to 40 lakh additional homes across 21 cities and towns. Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Minister Usha Devi stated in her post-budget briefing that the state government has allocated Rs 2,400 crore in its budget for the execution of the mission, a 5T initiative, aimed at bringing the water supply service standards in urban areas of Odisha on par with international cities.
India’s first two cities to receive this honour under the mission are Puri and Gopalpur.
By June 2023, Berhampur will have the “drink from tap” goal implemented, and by December 2023, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Rourkela will as well. According to the minister, 30 other cities would attain tap connection to 100% of households by December 2023, joining the five corporations of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur, and Rourkela that have already done so.
She added that the budget’s other main focus areas for the Housing and Urban sector included urban housing with a provision of Rs 609 crore, decentralised sanitation and drainage management with a budget of Rs 1,307 crore, and inclusive urban infrastructure with an outlay of Rs 2,345 crore. In the upcoming fiscal year, over 400 Kalyan Mandaps will be built in metropolitan areas, according to H&UD secretary G Mathivathanan.
Prasanta Patnaik