Bhubaneswar, 18 September (H.S.) : The Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Department of the Odisha Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Bank of India (SBI), through its payment aggregator service SBIePay, to strengthen digital payment infrastructure and streamline citizen payments across Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) through the SUJOG platform.

The partnership is aimed at providing citizens with secure, convenient and accessible digital payment facilities for a range of municipal services, including taxes, fees and utility charges. The initiative is also expected to reduce the need for citizens to visit municipal offices for routine transactions and improve transparency and efficiency in urban governance.

The MoU was signed by H&UD Department Additional Secretary Suvendu Sahoo on behalf of the Odisha Government and SBI DGM, D&TB Sushant Kumar Dash on behalf of the State Bank of India. Additional Chief Secretary, H&UD Department, Usha Padhee, was present during the signing ceremony. SBI Odisha Circle Chief General Manager Rakesh Yadav also attended the event.

Under the agreement, citizens will be able to make payments through the SUJOG platform using a wide range of digital payment modes. These include RuPay, Visa, MasterCard, Maestro and AMEX cards, internet banking, mobile banking and IMPS, UPI, UPI-RCC (RuPay Credit Card), UPI-CL (Credit Line) and digital wallets.

The integration is designed to make municipal payments faster and more convenient while improving accessibility for citizens across urban areas of the State. By bringing multiple payment options onto a single platform, the initiative seeks to simplify routine transactions related to municipal services.

A key feature of the new payment framework is the streamlined settlement of collections. Payments received through the gateway will be transferred directly to the designated bank accounts of the respective ULBs on a T+1 business-day basis.

Unique transaction identifiers will facilitate transparent accounting, reconciliation and tracking of collections across Urban Local Bodies. The system will also include provisions for exception handling, Management Information System (MIS)-based reconciliation, refunds and chargeback management.

These processes will be supported by a turnaround time (TAT) of seven calendar days, with the objective of strengthening transparency and improving citizen confidence in digital payment services.

Speaking on the occasion, Additional Chief Secretary Usha Padhee appreciated SBI for its support in strengthening the SUJOG platform. She said the collaboration would help the department further improve the efficiency, convenience and accessibility of citizen services through digital means.

SBI Odisha Circle Chief General Manager Rakesh Yadav assured that the bank would extend all possible support and cooperation for the successful implementation of the initiative and for further strengthening the digital payment ecosystem under SUJOG.

The collaboration marks a significant step towards strengthening Odisha's digital urban governance ecosystem. By integrating a comprehensive and secure payment gateway with municipal service delivery, the H&UD Department aims to make the payment of urban taxes, fees and utility charges faster, simpler, safer and more accessible.

The initiative is expected to further advance citizen-centric digital governance by bringing payment services closer to residents while enabling ULBs to improve financial tracking, reconciliation and management of collections through a transparent digital framework.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda