The Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) has initiated a partnership with the Airawat Research Foundation (ARF), the National Centre of Excellence for AI in Sustainable Cities at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur), to integrate artificial intelligence into core civic operations. The consultation laid out a strategic roadmap to use AI to improve service delivery, streamline municipal revenue systems and enhance citizen engagement across the city. The plan aims to pilot technological tools before wider deployment based on feasibility and performance.

The SMC commissioner said that a key initiative is the introduction of an AI-powered grievance redressal system and that the multilingual platform would allow residents to lodge complaints through voice or text in Odia, Hindi and English. Complaints relating to civic issues such as potholes, malfunctioning streetlights and water leakages would be automatically categorised and routed to the appropriate departments in real time. This automated routing is intended to ensure quicker resolution and greater accountability in municipal responses.

Under the Swachh Sambalpur initiative, the civic body plans to deploy AI-enabled computer vision integrated with the city's CCTV network to identify sanitation black spots and detect garbage dumping areas, generating real-time alerts for prompt action. Officials said that AI-based route optimisation for waste collection vehicles is expected to improve operational efficiency and reduce response times. The project will begin with a pilot phase in select wards and may be scaled across the city according to results.

A team from IIT Kanpur is expected to visit Sambalpur to conduct on-ground assessments to better understand the city's specific challenges and infrastructure requirements. Municipal officials indicated that the assessments will inform technical specifications and implementation timelines. The initiative is presented as part of a broader effort to modernise municipal services, support sanitation objectives and strengthen transparency in civic administration.