Naveen Patnaik Seeks 5 Lakh Houses Under Centre's Housing Scheme for Cyclone-affected Families

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has urged the Centre to sanction five lakh houses under the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojna to the state which was battered by Cyclone Fani recently.

Meanwhile, an eleven-member central team started a three-day visit of the coastal districts to make an on-the-spot assessment of the damage caused by the cyclone.

Patnaik, in a letter to the Prime Miniser, said that while a survey was on to ascertain the exact number of houses damaged by the massive pre-monsoon cyclone, preliminary estimation had suggested that about five lakh houses had been “completely or substantially damaged”.

“I would request you to kindly consider sanctioning five lakh PMGY(G) special houses initially for the state of Odisha,” Patnaik wrote, thanking the central government for their assistance during the severe cyclone. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had conducted an aerial survey of the cyclone-ravaged state on May 6. The state government had then highlighted the “dire need for building disaster-resilient housing along the coastal belt of Odisha” vulnerable to cyclonic storms.

“I reiterate our request for waiver of the permanent wait list (PWL) criterion for this particular allocation and also consider a Centre-state fund sharing pattern of 90:10 as a special case,” the Cm said in the letter.

Patnaik said the monsoon is likely to hit the state on June 10 and pucca houses would be needed for the affected people. He said the state would be issuing of work orders from June 1 'in anticipation of the approval of the proposal by the central government'.

Several densely populated areas are still struggling with disruption of power and water supplies since the cyclone hit the state on May 3. Patnaik had earlier sought an additional 1,000 kilolitres of kerosene from the Centre free of cost to restore the power supplies.

Union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendara Pradhan has said that he had asked an oil marketing PSU to contribute around Rs 3.2 crore (equivalent to the cost of 1,000 kilolitres of kerosene on cost basis) through CSR funds to the state government. The central ministry has also made available an additional 1,000 kilolitres of kerosene for lifting by the state government, said Pradhan.

The central minister also said that the sufficient supply of petrol, diesel and LPG had all been ensured in Odisha’s cyclone-hit districts.