Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minsiter Naveen Patnaik wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking assistance for construction of pucca houses in the cyclone-hit districts of Odisha, today.

The Chief Minister has requested the sanction of 5 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin special houses in the 14 districts of the state that have been affected by the cyclone.

He further appealed to the PM to consider the cost of unit assistance to be shared between the Centre and state in the ratio 90:10 instead of the usual 60:40 (as is conditional for plain areas). Naveen also reiterated his request to waive off the Permanent Wait List (PWL) criterion for this particular allocation.

Monsoon is likely to touch Odisha coast on June 10, hence keeping in view the exigency of pucca houses for cyclone-hit victims, the state government has issued the work orders for construction of these houses from June 1, in expectation of subsequent approval of this proposal by the Centre, informed Naveen to the PM.

Also read: Odisha CM announces pucca houses for cyclone FANI victims

Worth mentioning, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had yesterday announced construction of pucca houses for those families whose houses were completely or substantially damaged during cyclone FANI.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier on April 30 ordered advance release of financial assistance of Rs 340.875 crore for Odisha. The Prime Minister had also announced immediate assistance of Rs 1000 crores for the cyclone-hit state on May 6.