Bhubaneswar: With population in Bhubaneswar growing by leaps and bounds, the Odisha Government working out a plan to provide houses to people at affordable prices in the capital city.
Together with the rapid population rise, property rate has also sky-rocketed in the state capital, making it tough for common people to afford a house to live in.
In view of the prevailing situation, the state government is planning to expand the periphery of the capital city under Town Planning Scheme to provide houses at affordable prices, Housing and Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra told reporters on Saturday.
While a house costs at least Rs one crore in Bhubaneswar, plans are afoot to enable people to get houses under HIG, MIG and LIG categories between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 50 lakh, he said, adding that the affordable houses will be built by the H&UD Department.
As people are keen to reside in Bhubaneswar Smart City with all amenities, the Chief Minister is reviewing the present situation and plans are being made accordingly.
Stressing that the aim is to have a ‘Better Bhubaneswar and Great Bhubaneswar’, the Minister said considering the traffic congestion on almost all major routes, steps are being taken to place the existing system by constructing more flyovers to improve traffic flow.
Plans are also being prepared to ply more city buses to improve the public transport system in the state capital and adjoining areas.
“We are planning to transform Bhubaneswar smart city to smarter city. The plans made earlier by the Centre for the Smart City have not been fruitful,” the Minister added.