Industry Odisha Bureau, Aug 24: Odisha Housing and Urban Development department organised Odisha Urban Conclave 2026 on Sunday at Lok Seva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar. The Urban Conclave was organised with an aim to chalk out measures and initiatives for the sustainable urban local bodies in the state.
Speaking at the outset, Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra highlighted how the government is committed towards sustainability. The Urban conclave will bring out urban transformation, find ways to build citizen-centric services. Infrastructure growth to make Odisha a leading player in the country was the sole aim.
Odisha is enriched with mineral resources, urban landscape and has a good demography. The topography of the state is a bonus, however, the state still lags behind in poverty. The state has been able to mitigate flood risks and natural calamities like cyclone even without the necessary infrastructure.
Strengthening the existing infrastructure with improved municipal performance, effective financial management will give a direction to the state’s growth. The 16th Finance Commission has allotted Rs 67, 460 crore (~4.42% of central divisible tax pool) to Odisha. The 6th State finance commission has allotted Rs 50,000 crore framework for rural and urban local bodies for the Financial year 2026-27.
Urban Conclave came out as a review-cum-orientation programme bringing together senior officials, municipal officials, urban planners, experts and other key players. Initiatives revolving around urban planning to have a sustainable infrastructure covered Town planning schemes, Samruddha Sahar framework. Similarly, Urban Challenge Fund, planned development of Tier-II and Tier-III cities, MM Sahari Bikas Yojana, pedestrian-friendly roads and Urban Transition Policy also remained key topics of discussion.
