Bhubaneswar, May 1 (IANS) Odisha Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra on Thursday officially launched a new initiative, SAHAJOG to enable the urban poor to access benefits under various government social sector schemes.
As per the statement of H&UD department, SAHAJOG is the first-of-its-kind initiative focused on identifying eligible beneficiaries from urban poor communities and linking them to appropriate schemes by creating mass awareness, delivering services at the doorstep, and strengthening implementation mechanisms at the urban local body (ULB) and district levels.
The H&UD department further noted that in its initial phase, the initiative (SAHAJOG) will focus on a set of priority schemes, including, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (*Urban), Ration Cards under NFSA, Pipe water supply, Ayushman Card, PWD identity Card, Subhadra Yojana, Labour Card, E-Shram Card, Garima Scheme, PM Vishwakarma Yojana, Madhubabu Pension Yojana, Sukanya Samridhi Yojana, and PM Suraksha Bima Yojana.
The Housing support to the urban poor under PMAY (U) will serve as the entry point for the saturation of other schemes to a family.
This new initiative was launched following the success of the pilot (scheme) conducted across six ULBs, covering 5,000 households, which helped identify key gaps and strategies for effectively reaching the most vulnerable communities.
“In this phase, the SAHAJOG initiative will be rolled out in 44 ULBs across 8 districts, reaching over 15 lakh people. It will be gradually scaled to all ULBs across the State. The eight districts namely Khordha, Cuttack, Ganjam, Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Bhadrak where urban poor are comparatively much more,” added the H&UD department.
It also noted that implementation support will be mobilised from Swachh Karmis, Jalsathis, leaders of Slum Dwellers Associations, Self Help Groups (SHGs), NGOs, community volunteers, and ULB frontline workers, who will play a crucial role in spreading awareness and facilitating eligible beneficiaries in submitting applications.
The execution will follow a fast-track, campaign-mode approach for the initial two months.
Community volunteers and frontline workers will be incentivized based on milestone achievements.
Interdepartmental Committees at State and District level are formed for smooth coordination and execution of the initiative.
The district level Committee is headed by the District Collector. Senior Officers from other line departments are members in this committee to support the ULB team and monitor the progress regularly.
Monthly progress reviews will be held during District Development Committee meetings, and updates will be shared with the state.
Additionally, Commissioners and Executive Officers will address scheme-related grievances every Monday during their regular grievance redressal sessions. The initiative aligns with the “Viksit Odisha” and “Vikasit Bharat” Missions.
Launching the programme, the H&UD Minister said that starting right from today to June 20, the initiation will be converted into a mass movement and eight Collectors from 8 districts have been asked to form committees at their level.
In future, there will be an app which will connect the eligible beneficiaries.
The minister further said that after completing in urban areas it will cover rural beneficiaries. At present 44 ULBs of 8 districts are covered.
–IANS
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