Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik completed the fourth year of his fifth term in office on Monday with the announcement of a new housing scheme, Mo Ghara (My Home), for the homeless of rural areas.

The scheme will provide financial assistance to the lower and lower-middle-income households of rural Odisha.

The scheme got the nod of the state cabinet chaired by Naveen on Monday. The scheme will cover all the families left out of different existing housing schemes because of stringent eligibility criteria or insufficient allocation.

The people, who had earlier received housing assistance for smaller units and now want to upgrade their houses, will also benefit from the scheme. The state will provide loans to the people under the scheme with subsidies.

Apart from this, the state cabinet approved the Konark Heritage Area Development plan for the beautification of the area adjoining the 13th-century Sun temple at a cost of Rs 209 core.

The cabinet also gave its nod to the launching of the Ekamra Kshetra Amenities and Monuments Revival Action Plan at a cost of Rs 156 crore for reviving and enhancing the heritage value of the inner core of the old town of Bhubaneswar, known asEkamra Kshetra, through urban design intervention and infrastructure upgradation around the 11th century Lord Lingaraj Temple in old Bhubaneswar.

Briefing about the cabinet decisions regarding the Mo Ghara scheme in the presence of chief secretary P.K. Jena, panchayati raj and drinking water minister Pardeep Kumar Amat said: “The families which have not availed any government housing assistance or availed assistance below Rs 70,000 in the past, with monthly income below Rs 25,000 and do not have a non-commercial motorised four wheeler for personal use, are eligible for the scheme.”