Odisha has made a giant leap in extending urban governance with its formal notification to establish 24 new Notified Area Councils in 14 districts and elevating five places to municipalities. The major administrative reshaping, undertaken with an aim to enhance civic infrastructure, decentralised local governance, was formalised through two separate government notifications issued recently.
Among the new NACs, Mayurbhanj district accounted for the maximum share, while Betanati, Bangiriposi, Chitrada, Kaptipada and Rasagobindapur were all brought under urban local body administration. Other major inclusions are Salepur, Badamba, and Narsinghpur in Cuttack, while Tihidi and Dhusuri were notified in Bhadrak.
The list also features Pallahara in Angul, Simulia in Balasore, Sohela in Bargarh, and Gandiya in Dhenkanal. In southern and western Odisha, the government designated Jagannath Prasad and Patrapur (Ganjam), Narla and Jayapatna (Kalahandi), Tangi (Khordha), and Borigumma (Koraput) as NACs. Further notifications included Bisamkatak in Rayagada, Bamra and Rengali in Sambalpur, and Biramaharajpur in Subarnapur.
Concerning the local authority, the upgrade of Bhanjanagar, Kabisuryanagar, and Polasara in the Ganjam district, Boudhgarh in the Boudh district, and Karanjia in Mayurbhanj to full-fledged municipalities is based on the move to higher levels. The state government's officials asserted that the changes of governance are precisely aimed at providing improved civic facilities and services to rapidly developing rural pockets.
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