Dikhyaa Mohanty 
MUKTA Coordinators and Community Organisers (COs) had a one-day state-level orientation today at the Lok seva Bhawan Convention Center in Bhubaneswar. In his speech to the attendees, G Mathi Vathanan, principal secretary of the H&UD Department, detailed the next steps and urged the attendees to work toward achieving speed and scale without compromising quality and transparency in the MUKTA implementation. By the end of December 2023, he has ordered that all 2055 wards of the 115 Urban Local Bodies have 5 essential amenities, including parks, gyms, paver roads, open space, and drainage. The specialists must follow the SOP.
MUKTA adopts a bottom-up, community-driven strategy that ensures openness and accountability across the board for the full execution environment. According to him, the H&UD department has always attempted to implement MUKTA with speed and scale while maintaining quality and transparency. Today marks MUKTA’s third anniversary. Over the past three years, 115 urban local authorities in the state have undertaken almost 52,500 projects. Approximately 6 lakh urban poor and migrant workers directly benefited from the creation of more than 62 lakh person-days, with nearly 40% of the beneficiaries being female.
The “Catch the Rain Campaign” has produced up to 36,000 rainwater gathering devices in various ULBs. MUKTA has worked with over 26,455 Mission Shakti organizations and slum dweller organizations to carry out about 52,500 projects. So it is now necessary to speed up the pace of labor. Mathi issued a warning that anyone who does not perform would be removed from our squad. Sangramjit Nayak, Director of Municipal Administration, highlighted the goals and vision for the workshop on developing capacity for MUKTA’s successful implementation.
For the smooth execution of the MUKTA scheme, which would benefit urban poor and migrant workers at large by bringing livelihood opportunities to their doorsteps, community organizers and Mukta professionals in the ULBs play a crucial role in offering techno-managerial support and extending end-to-end facilitation support to Mission Shakti groups and slum dweller associations. Through the execution of MUKTA, the team must work tirelessly to go the extra mile and leave a lasting impression on the state’s urban landscape in order to fulfill the Chief Minister’s goal.
