Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The “Odisha Rural-Urban Transition Policy” has been approved by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. This innovative policy, which is part of 5T Governance, aims to bridge the rural-urban divide by providing all residents of the rapidly expanding rural areas surrounding the cities with access to basic urban infrastructure, amenities, and services. An official press release described this strategy as a first-of-its-kind that aims to implement a number of advanced and practical steps to solve the problems caused by unplanned and uncontrolled urbanization.
Because there is no transition period for the inhabitants to adjust to the unexpected change, the current notification system that designates a rural region as an urban area causes abrupt changes in the political and administrative structure. It also lacks an open and participatory attitude, which frequently sparks opposition and encourages legal action.
By 2031, 21% of the population of Odisha is anticipated to live in urban areas, up from 19% currently. Nearly 40% of the state’s urbanization is the result of the expansion of census towns or peri-urban regions. Even after being designated as urban zones, these peri-urban and rurban communities continue to face the problem of having insufficient access to social infrastructure, civic amenities, and services. After lengthy discussions with experts and practitioners, it has become clear that the main cause of this predicament is the lack of a comprehensive strategy and strong institutions to control unplanned urbanization.
The Rural-Urban Transition Policy seeks to provide urban civic facilities and services to the residents of the specified rural regions much before the places are legally recognized as urban areas, which represents a considerable change from the previous approach. The policy permits the formation of a special budget for the delivery of services and the implementation of infrastructure projects while actively including elected officials, officials, and all other stakeholders in the planning, carrying out, and overseeing of the transition process.
