BHUBANESWAR
The Odisha Housing and Urban Development Department on Friday signed an MoU with the State Bank of India (SBI) to strengthen digital payment infrastructure across Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) through the SUJOG platform.
Under the partnership, citizens will be able to make online payments for municipal services, taxes, fees and utility charges using multiple digital payment options. These include RuPay, Visa, MasterCard, Maestro and AMEX cards, internet banking, mobile banking, IMPS, UPI, UPI-RCC, UPI-CL and digital wallets.
The department said the initiative will make public payments more convenient and accessible while reducing the need for citizens to visit municipal offices for routine transactions. The integration is also expected to improve transparency and efficiency in urban governance.
A key feature of the framework is the direct settlement of collections into the designated bank accounts of respective ULBs on a T+1 business-day basis. Unique transaction identifiers will support transparent accounting, reconciliation and tracking of collections.
The system will also include mechanisms for exception handling, MIS-based reconciliation, refunds and chargeback management. These processes will have a turnaround time of seven calendar days, the department said.
Additional Chief Secretary Usha Padhee thanked SBI for its support in strengthening the SUJOG platform and said the collaboration would enhance the efficiency, convenience and accessibility of citizen services through digital means.
Rakesh Yadav, Chief General Manager of SBI Odisha Circle, assured that the bank would extend support to make the initiative successful and strengthen the digital payment ecosystem under SUJOG.
The department said the comprehensive payment gateway would make urban tax, fee and utility payments faster, simpler, safer and more accessible to citizens across Odisha.