Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is likely to announce the formation of new Notified Area Councils (NACs) very soon.
Sharing this information, Housing and Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra said that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi is set to declare the names of the new NACs in the near future.
Proposals for the creation of new NACs have been received from all 30 districts and forwarded to the Panchayati Raj Department for further review.
Following a scrutiny by the Panchayati Raj Department, the H&UD Department will send a proposal for creation of the new NACs to the Chief Minister.
As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is set to celebration the completion of one year in office from June 12, it is expected that the Chief Minister may make the announcement about the new NAC creation on that day to mark the occasion.
At present, Odisha has 113 NACs, and these urban local bodies serve smaller urban centres with populations ranging from 12,000 to 40,000. In addition to the NACs, the State also comprises 54 municipalities and five municipal corporations.
Sources said the state government is making efforts to raise the state’s urban coverage to 30 per cent from the current 17 per cent by creating new NACs and municipalities.