Dikhyaa Mohanty 
In global recognition for “MUKTA” – the Urban Wage Employment Scheme under the 5T Initiative of Naveen Patnaik’s government, the Housing & Urban Development Department of the Government of Odisha is selected as one of the winners of the 2021-2022 World Resources Institute (WRI), Ross Centre Prize for Cities. The winners were announced at Prize for Cities event held at the Ford Foundation Centre for Social Justice in New York City on February 1.
Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Department G Mathi Vathanan received the International Award in the special event organized in New York. Sarada Prasad Panda, Joint Secretary, H&UD Department, has accompanied the Principal Secretary. This award, administered by an International Jury, selected “MUKTA” as a winner through a competitive process from amongst 260 applications from 155 cities in 65 countries.
The Prize for Cities is WRI’s Urban Transformation Award recognizing the leaders creating more sustainable and inclusive cities worldwide. The award acknowledged MUKTA’s innovative approach to responding to uncertainty, disruption and crisis by creating large-scale jobs for the urban poor, informal and migrant labourers by engaging them in development works as a mechanism for cities to live and thrive in turbulent times.
