Odisha govt clears Bill to create economic region development authorities

The Odisha Cabinet approved amendments to the ODA Act to enable Economic Region Development Authorities, with the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Paradeep region set to become the first ERDA

In a major step towards reshaping Odisha's urban and industrial development, the state Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, on Saturday approved a proposal to amend the Odisha Development Authorities (ODA) Act, 1982, paving the way for the establishment of Economic Region Development Authorities (ERDAs) to oversee the planned development of large urban and industrial corridors across the state.

 

The proposed Odisha Development Authorities (Amendment) Bill, 2026, moved by the Housing and Urban Development Department, aims to create a comprehensive statutory framework for constituting, empowering and governing ERDAs.

 

The reform will facilitate integrated planning across multiple urban local bodies and districts, enabling city agglomerations to function as unified economic regions rather than isolated municipal jurisdictions.

 

 

The amendment aligns with Odisha Vision 2036 and Vision 2047 – Viksit Odisha for Viksit Bharat, which identifies urbanisation as a key driver of economic growth. The vision envisages the planned development of city clusters as integrated economic corridors with modern infrastructure, employment hubs, efficient transport systems and coordinated public services.

 

Odisha has identified several potential economic regions, including the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Paradeep Economic Region (BKPPER), Bargarh-Jharsuguda-Sambalpur, Berhampur-Chhatrapur-Gopalpur and Jeypore-Koraput-Sunabeda agglomerations. Other economic regions will be notified by the government in a phased manner.

 

Region-specific economic plans and master plans have been proposed for these urban clusters to facilitate planning beyond municipal boundaries, leverage the complementary strengths of constituent cities, attract investment, generate employment, and improve housing, mobility, public services and overall quality of life.

 

Anu Garg, Chief Secretary, said an economic plan has already been prepared for the BKPPER region in collaboration with NITI Aayog, making it the pilot project for the new institutional framework. In the Union Budget 2026–27, four city economic regions have been identified as engines of economic growth, with BKPPER being one of them, alongside Varanasi, Surat and Visakhapatnam, she said.

 

"While multiple development authorities currently function within different urban areas, there is no overarching statutory institution to coordinate planning and implementation across an entire economic region. The proposed ERDAs will help bridge this gap by providing seamless coordination among various development authorities operating within a region," Garg said.

 

The amendment proposes to add new definitions for "economic region" and "economic region development authority" to the ODA Act and insert an entirely new Chapter IIA. This new chapter will empower the state government to notify and constitute ERDAs for future economic regions without requiring a fresh legislative amendment each time.

 

"This will establish a durable and scalable legal framework capable of supporting the state's long-term urban and industrial expansion," the Chief Secretary said.

 

Once the amendment is approved by the Odisha Legislative Assembly, BKPPER will become Odisha's first formally constituted Economic Region Development Authority. The region combines the state capital, major urban centres, the Paradip port, industrial hubs, logistics infrastructure, and important religious and cultural destinations into a single economic geography to accelerate investment, infrastructure creation and regional competitiveness.