Bhubaneswar, April 07: To simplify and speed up the functioning of urban local bodies in the state, the Odisha government has amended the Odisha Municipal Rules, 1953. As per the new Odisha Municipal (Amendment) Rules, 2025, the financial approval powers of Executive Officers and Chairpersons of municipal bodies have been enhanced.
According to a notification issued by the Housing and Urban Development Department, Executive Officers can now approve contingent expenditures for municipal administration up to Rs10 lakh at a time without prior council approval. Salary bills and payment orders up to Rs25 lakh can be signed solely by the Executive Officer. For amounts exceeding Rs25 lakh, joint approval of both the Executive Officer and the Municipal Chairperson will be required.
Executive Officers are also authorized to grant administrative approval for works up to Rs10 lakh. For projects exceeding this amount, approval from the Chairperson will be necessary.
Additionally, if any bill submitted to the Chairperson is neither approved nor returned with reasons within 7 days, the Executive Officer can get it approved through the District Collector.
The department expressed hope that these amendments will remove administrative bottlenecks and help ensure smoother daily functioning and faster implementation of development works in municipal bodies.
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