Odisha government today on March 30, 2025 has launched the Antyodaya Gruha Yojana, a scheme aimed at providing pucca houses to the economically weak but eligible households that have been left out of other ongoing housing schemes.
Speaking at the launch event at Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district today, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said that “getting a house has been a big problem for the poor and common people since the 70s and even today, many people do not have one. The Antyodaya Gruha scheme will solve this problem and everyone will get a pucca house”.
“The government will provide home and hope to the poorest and most helpless people under this new scheme”, he further said.
During the launch today, the government issued work orders for the construction of 60,000 houses under the Antyodaya Gruha Yojana and set a target to build more than 5 lakh pucca houses in the next 3 years. The state government has allocated a budget of Rs 2,600 crore towards this scheme for this financial year along with Rs 7,550 crore for the next 3 years.
What is Odisha’s Antyodaya Gruha Yojana?
Antyodaya Gruha Yojana (AGJ) is Odisha government’s flagship scheme to provide pucca houses to the all eligible households in the rural areas of the state who do not benefit from other welfare housing schemes. The schemes also covers victims of natural or man-made calamities, families displaced due to development projects, person with disability who is the bread-winner of the family and forest rights act (FRA) beneficiaries.
Pucca house vs Kutcha house:
The government considers those houses ‘pucca’ where the walls are made of material like bricks, stone etc. with cement bonding and, roofs are made of RCC material and the houses can withstand normal usage, calamities and disasters for a minimum period of 30 years with normal wear and tear.
A kutcha house is the one where the wall is made of any material where other bonding is not cement and the roof is made of material other than RCC such as mud, grass, straw and bamboo etc.
Key Features of the Scheme
- The state-backed scheme provides pucca houses to eligible rural households who are either houseless or living in kutcha houses.
- Antyodaya Gruha yojana has two components:1. Construction of new house and 2. Incentive to beneficiaries.
- The beneficiary under the scheme will receive a financial assistance of Rs 1.2 lakh for the construction of pucca house with minimum carpet area of 25 square meters. The house includes kitchen/cooking space but not toilet area.
- The beneficiaries of Antyodaya Gruha Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin), PM-JANMAN or any other government funded rural housing schemes will receive incentive of Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 for completion of the house within 4 and 6 months respectively from the data of receipt of first instalment.
- Beneficiaries of the ongoing Biju Pucca Ghara Yojana will also be covered in this scheme.
Eligibility Criteria
Households without a home or living in kutcha houses will become eligible for a new pucca house if they fall under any of these categories:
- Beneficiaries of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA)
- Households where the main earning member is a person with at least 40% disability
- Low income households that are eligible but are not included in other ongoing rural housing schemes.
Households in the following categories can become eligible for a new pucca house even if they have received a house before under a government housing scheme as long as they do not fall under the exclusion criteria listed in the next para.
- People whose houses were fully or severely damaged by natural or man-made calamities such as fire, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, communal violence or other law and order issues.
- Victims of river or sea inundation who need to relocate
- Households relocated for government projects if they do not already own a pucca house elsewhere
- Families living in sanctuaries or reserve forests who need to be relocated
Exclusion Criteria
Households will not be eligible if they:
- Live in a pucca house
- Have a family member employed in a government, PSU or Statutory body or getting pension from these offices
- Own a four-wheeler motor vehicle
- Own a three or four-wheeler agricultural equipment
- Own a non-agricultural enterprise registered with the government
- Have a family member earning more than Rs 15,000 per month
- Own 2.5 acres or more of irrigated land or 5 acres or more of un-irrigated land
- already enrolled in other government rural housing scheme
- Were relocated for a government project but already own a pucca house in other locality
Selection of Beneficiaries
The collector-cum-District Magistrate will review and submit a list of eligible beneficiaries to the Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department of Odisha state for the approval. The PR & DW department will then seek approval and order from the Chief Minister and communicate the decision to the concerned district. The Block Development Officer (BDO) will then complete requirement procedures and will sanction houses to the eligible beneficiaries.
Persons with disabilities, critically ill patients, widows, single mothers, families affected by the house fires, elephant attacks and natural calamities will be given preference for the house sanction under the Antyodaya Gruha yojana.
The preference will be given to the landless beneficiaries by the Revenue Authorities for house site allocation. The ground-level implementation of the will be handled by the joint efforts of BDO, Tehsildar and District Collector at different levels.
Benefits & Funds Disbursal
The unit cost for the construction of new pucca house is Rs 1,20,000. The funds will be paid to the beneficiaries in three instalments.
| Instalment Level | Condition for Release | Amount (in ₹) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Instalment | Along with the issuance of the work order | 10,000 |
| 2nd Instalment | Upon reaching the roof level | 65,000 |
| 3rd Instalment | Upon completion of the house | 15,000 |
| Total | — | 1,20,000 |
The beneficiaries constructing new houses will also be provided 90/95 days of unskilled labour out of MGNREGA in addition to the unit cost Rs 1.2 lakh. The rate of unskilled labour under MGNREGA in Odisha is Rs 254 per day, meaning the beneficiaries could receive up to Rs Rs 22,860 to Rs 24,130.
The beneficiaries will also get additional support for toilets from Swachh Bharat mission, cooking gas from Ujjwala yojana, drinking water from Jal Jeevan Mission and Electricity connection from Saubhagya Yojana. The state government has integrated these schemes to provide all critical amenities to the beneficiaries.
The funds under the Antyodaya Gruha Yojana will be credited to the beneficiary’s account from the State Nodal Account through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
Read the guidelines here at the official website of PR & DW Department, Odisha.
How to apply?
The Block Development Officer and the local Panchayati Raj office are responsible for identifying the households who are eligible for the Antyodaya Gruha scheme.
The eligible people can also visit the block office or panchayat raj office in their locality to fill the application form. An application form is also available at the official website of PR & DW department – https://rhodisha.gov.in/ at this link.
The eligible applicants are advised to visit the nearest Block Office or Panchayat Raj office for more details.