The towns sought to be included in the RAY are Balasore, Jeypore, Jharsuguda and Jajpur.
"The state government is fully committed to make Odisha slum free and has formulated a comprehensive policy for this purpose," Patnaik said in a letter to Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja.
The state government is also in the process of making legislation for according property rights to slum-dwellers and preventing growth of new slums-dwellers and of new slums, the Chief Minister said.
Patnaik's letter to the Union Minister comes close on the heels of the state cabinet's approval on Tuesday of a legislation for comprehensive redevelopment and rehabilitation of the slum-dwellers.
The legislation, Odisha Property Rights to Slum Dwellers and Prevention of New Slums Bill, is proposed to be brought in the next session of the Assembly.
The move is seen as a step initiated by the BJD government with an eye on the urban local bodies elections due early next year.
Six towns -- Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Rourkela, Sambalpur and Puri -- are covered under the RAY. So far two pilot projects - Rangamatia and Mahisakhal slums in the capital - have been sanctioned and proposals for a few more slums would be submitted soon, he said.
