Tata Steel Foundation and Government of Odisha sign MoU to transform urban habitats in the State

Bhubaneswar, August 31, 2025 – Tata Steel Foundation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Housing & Urban Development Department (H&UDD), Government of Odisha, to advance inclusive and liveable urban habitats in informal settlements. This strategic collaboration aims to reduce urban inequality by unlocking public entitlements and establishing scalable models of inclusive habitat development.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi during the State-level celebration of Local Self-Governance Day at Rail Auditorium, Bhubaneswar. The event was attended by Smt. Usha Padhee, Principal Secretary, H&UDD; Shri Arindam Dakua, Director Municipal Administration and other senior government officials. Mr. Sourav Roy, Chief Executive Officer, signed the MoU on behalf of Tata Steel Foundation.

This partnership in being built on a successful collaboration which was initiated in November 2022. Since then, it has already impacted over 1.34 lakh slum households across five municipal corporations through improved tenure security, access to basic services, and better living conditions.

On the occasion, Sourav Roy said: “Tata Steel Foundation has been working closely with the Government of Odisha (GoO) to bring a transformative impact on urban habitats across the state, and the MoU signed today marks the commencement of the next phase of this collaboration towards urban slum-dwellers realizing their rights with cities overall being more resilient. This leverages the grounded efforts of our teams over the last few years, and is a reflection of the Tata Steel Foundation commitment to design and implement models of change in Odisha, which bring real and positive change for vulnerable communities while also serving as templates for social impact and public – private collaboration. We remain in gratitude to communities, partners and the Government of Odisha for their belief in us.”

Under the new MoU, the Foundation will continue the State-level Mission Management Unit and deploy dedicated teams across 10 districts and 19 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). The initiative is expected to directly benefit approximately 2.28 lakh slum households by enabling access to social welfare schemes and transforming informal settlements into inclusive, resilient urban habitats.

Effective for a period of four years, the MoU reinforces Odisha’s commitment to inclusive urban development by aligning government leadership with corporate implementation capacity. It aims to strengthen city-level systems, empower community institutions, and translate policy intent into measurable, replicable outcomes. The collaboration sets a precedent for transformative habitat development, demonstrating how strategic partnerships can drive scalable impact in informal urban settlements.

This partnership and the subsequent extension of the project will help boost Tata Steel presence in Odisha. In addition, it will enable the Foundation to leverage its expertise in working with the last mile community and significantly enhancing the social impact work across urban slums in Odisha.