SAMBALPUR: The Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) has initiated steps to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its core civic operations.
The civic body held a virtual consultation on Friday with the Airawat Research Foundation (ARF), the National Centre of Excellence for AI in Sustainable Cities at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur in this regard. It laid out a strategic roadmap aimed at utilising AI to improve service delivery, streamline municipal revenue systems, and enhance citizen engagement across the city.
SMC commissioner Rehan Khatri said, “A key highlight of the initiative is the introduction of an AI-powered grievance redressal system. The multilingual platform will allow residents to lodge complaints through voice or text in Odia, Hindi, and English. Complaints related to civic issues such as potholes, malfunctioning streetlights, and water leakages will be automatically categorised and routed to the appropriate departments in real time, ensuring quicker resolution and greater accountability.”
Meanwhile under the Swachh Sambalpur initiative, The civic body is planning to deploy AI-enabled computer vision integrated with the city’s CCTV network to identify sanitation black spots. The system will detect garbage dumping areas and generate real-time alerts for prompt action. Additionally, AI-based route optimisation for waste collection vehicles is expected to enhance efficiency in sanitation services. Officials informed that the project will begin with a pilot phase in select wards, after which it will be scaled up across the city based on performance and feasibility.
A team from IIT Kanpur is expected to visit Sambalpur soon to conduct on-ground assessments and better understand the city’s specific challenges.