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Breaking Down Odisha's Jaga Mission | World's Largest Slum Upgradation Program
People residing in slums play a fundamental role in keeping cities functional and making them comfortable for others to inhabit. The high population influx in urban and peri-urban spaces gives rise to informal settlements. These settlements, or slums, face numerous infrastructural and resource challenges. They are typically uninhabitable, lack basic services, and are highly catalytic of health risks. In addition, slum residents face further difficulties because they do not have certificates of property title, which are needed as address proofs, to open bank accounts, enroll in school, get credit from financial institutions, and access various government benefits. The Jaga Mission strives to recognise their contribution. Jaga Mission or Odisha Livable Habitat Mission was launched by the Odisha Government's Housing and Urban Development Department (HUDD) in 2018 with the objective of transforming existing slums into livable habitats. It aims to do so by providing i) land tenure security, iil holistic habitat development, iiil improved housing, and iv) integrating the voices of the urban poor in policy planning and budgeting.
