Odisha Plans Holistic Capacity-Building Programme for Urban Governance Personnel

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is set to strengthen the professional and personal well-being of personnel engaged in urban governance through a proposed collaboration between the Odisha Urban Academy (OUA) and Sri Sri University.

A high-level meeting chaired by Additional Chief Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department, Usha Padhee, was held at Kharabela Bhawan on Thursday to discuss and finalise the framework for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two institutions.

The proposed partnership seeks to expand the scope of conventional government training by incorporating mental well-being, emotional resilience and human-centred skills into capacity-building programmes for officials and personnel working in Odisha’s urban governance system.

Under the proposed collaboration, OUA and Sri Sri University will jointly develop specialised training programmes covering areas such as stress management, meditation, conflict resolution, peacebuilding and emotional well-being. The programmes will target government officers, municipal executives and personnel working in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

A major component of the initiative will be the development of a cadre of professionally trained counsellors who can provide psycho-social and legal support to personnel and communities. The partnership will also explore digital platforms to extend counselling and capacity-building services to underserved and unreached urban populations.

The initiative aims to promote a ‘Karmayogi’ work culture based on ethical leadership, empathy, professionalism, emotional well-being and citizen-centric governance. Officials said such an approach would help public functionaries deal more effectively with workplace challenges while improving the quality of services delivered to citizens.

Chairing the meeting, Padhee stressed that strengthening urban administration requires more than professional competence and technical skills. She highlighted the need to give equal importance to the mental, emotional and psychological well-being of public servants, enabling them to work with greater resilience, empathy and effectiveness.

The proposed collaboration is also aligned with the broader objectives of Viksit Odisha 2036 and Viksit Bharat 2047, with the aim of contributing to the development of more inclusive, resilient, efficient and liveable cities in the State.

During the meeting, Swami Satyachaitanya, Director of Operations, Sri Sri University, outlined the proposed scope, objectives and implementation framework of the partnership.

Among those present were Arindam Dakua, Director, Municipal Administration; Suvendu Sahu, Director, Odisha Urban Academy; Debabrata Mohanty, Managing Director, WATCO; Mamatarani Naik, Joint Secretary, and other senior officials of the Housing & Urban Development Department.

Padhee directed the concerned officials to expedite the preparation of the Terms of Reference (ToR) and finalise the implementation framework so that the proposed training modules can be rolled out at the earliest.