Bhubaneswar: Odisha has set an ambitious target of transforming itself into a prosperous $500-billion economy by 2036, when the state will celebrate 100 years of its formation as a separate province, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi said on Saturday.Addressing the National Urban Conclave-2026 here, Majhi said Odisha’s urbanisation level, currently around 17%, is projected to rise to 40% by 2036. “The state govt has already initiated efforts to create world-class infrastructure and modern institutions to support this transformation. Opportunities in industrialisation, port-led development, tourism and the services sector are driving urban expansion,”Majhi said.Odisha has investment proposals worth Rs 23 lakh crore, while projects involving investments of Rs 3.5 lakh crore and more than 200 industries have already been launched.The CM added the state govt is developing the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Paradip Economic Region with the support of the central govt and Niti Aayog. The govt is expanding Bhubaneswar and Cuttack through satellite townships on their outskirts, recently creating 28 new NACs, seven municipalities and one municipal corporation, he said.Niti Aayog CEO Anurag Jain, who attended the event, said that by 2047, nearly 50% of India’s population is expected to live in urban areas, contributing around 75% of the country’s GDP. He, however, stressed that planned and well-managed urbanisation would be critical for sustaining economic growth, while unplanned urban expansion could create serious challenges.Referring to urban welfare initiatives, the chief minister said 1.53 lakh houses have been constructed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)-Urban. Under PMAY 2.0, the state has approved Rs 1,615 crore over the next five years for the PMAY Urban Bandhu (Beneficiary Assistance for Nurturing Development of Housing Units) programme, offering Economically Weaker Section beneficiaries a 90% concession on stamp duty and registration fees.Majhi also flagged off 26 electric buses under the PM e-Bus service. Soon, 400 additional e-buses, 100 midi e-buses and 50 mini e-buses will be added to the fleet. Besides the seven cities currently served by Crut, the e-bus services will be introduced in nine more urban centres — Baripada, Angul, Jharsuguda, Balasore, Jajpur, Rayagada, Jeypore, Bhadrak and Balangir.During the event, chief secretary Anu Garg highlighted the success of the Drink From Tap initiative, which began in Puri and has now expanded to 11 cities. She said piped drinking water is currently being supplied to households in all 114 urban local bodies across the state. She added that IITs are assisting in regular water quality monitoring, while jalasathis are being engaged to strengthen project implementation.
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