Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik distributes land rights certificates to 65,000 slum dwellers

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], August 28 (ANI): Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday distributed land right certificates to the 65,000 poor families living in the slums of five metropolitan cities including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Rourkela.
Addressing the event Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik stated that "Odisha is the only state in the country to give land rights to slum dwellers."
On this occasion, the Chief Minister said that "financial assistance will also be provided for the construction of houses. The second phase of the certificate will be issued next October." The chief minister said that this campaign will continue till all the poor families of the city get land rights.
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The Jaga Mission program, which started in 2018, provides land rights to poor families living in urban slums. Till now more than two lakh 40 thousand families got land rights in the state. Along with this, 40 thousand families have been given assistance for building houses.
With the aim of making slum-free Odisha, all these slums are being given all kinds of basic facilities and are being converted into Biju model colonies. Till now, 1010 settlements in 68 urban areas have been converted into Biju Model Colony.
The Chief Minister said that the city is not only for the rich. Even the poor can live in the city with their families, he said. "The labour of the poor is added to every brick used in the construction of the city. We should all respect their contribution. Jaga Mission has given respect to the poor, and given them a new identity," he said.
Stating that Jagga Mission has attracted the attention of not only Odisha but the whole world, he said that the poor have the first right in the city, Chief Minister opined that Jaga Mission has ushered in a new era in the transformation of the city.
"The 5T initiative has accelerated our efforts to transform people's lives. The Chief Minister opined that the Jaga Mission is a strong example of this," he said.
The Chief Minister also said that we are moving ahead with everyone's cooperation. Stating that our goal is to build a new Odisha, a strong Odisha, a transformed Odisha, he said that Monday's program will be a milestone towards achieving this goal.
During the program, the Chief Minister inaugurated 1010 colonies which have transformed into Biju Model Colonies and honoured the cities of Cuttack, Khordha, Koraput and Jajpur for their outstanding work in the construction of Biju Adamas Colony.
Chief Minister said that due to legal reasons, it is not possible to give a place to the slum dwellers in their own place, new colonies are being set up in nearby places with the consent of all.
Dhenkanal district has been the first in the country to grant land rights to slum dwellers under the implementation of the Forest Rights Act. (ANI)