Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government Thursday launched Sahajog, a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at facilitating access to various government welfare schemes for the urban poor.
Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra officially launched the programme in Bhubaneswar.
Designed to ensure last-mile delivery, Sahajog focuses on identifying eligible beneficiaries in urban poor communities and connecting them to appropriate schemes through mass awareness, doorstep delivery of services, and strengthened implementation mechanisms at the Urban Local Body (ULB) and district levels, officials said.
Officials said housing support under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) would serve as the entry point for delivering other benefits to eligible families.
Launching the initiative, Mahapatra said the programme will run in campaign mode from May 1 to June 20, turning the effort into a mass movement.
He added that eight district collectors have been directed to form coordination committees and that a mobile app will soon be developed to connect eligible beneficiaries directly to the schemes.
He said after covering urban areas, the initiative will be extended to rural beneficiaries. ”
The minister said that at present, over 15 lakh people across 44 ULBs in eight districts are included in the programme’s first phase. The districts are Khurda, Cuttack, Ganjam, Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Bhadrak.
H&UD principal secretary Usha Padhee said, “We are taking initiatives for the weaker sections of society. As land, house, water, electricity are the basic needs of economically weaker sections, the department will function as the nodal agency of the initiative.”
