Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has initiated a significant bureaucratic reshuffle, transferring 42 officers from the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) and assigning them new roles across multiple departments and districts.
A recent notification from the General Administration and Public Grievance (GA&PG) Department indicates that this reshuffle affects officers in senior administrative, district-level, and secretariat positions.
As part of the changes, Bidhan Chandra Ray, OAS (SS), currently the Special Secretary for the Commerce and Transport Department, will now serve as Special Secretary for the Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Department.
Aniruddha Pradhan, OAS (SAG), who was the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) for Boudh, has been reassigned to the role of ADM for Subarnapur and appointed as ADM under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
Additionally, Pratap Pritimaya, OAS (SAG), has been designated as ADM for Dhenkanal after his previous posting in the Revenue and Disaster Management Department was revoked.
Ramesh Chandra Sethi, OAS (SAG), previously serving as ADM for Dhenkanal, will now take on the role of Additional Commissioner for the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) under foreign service terms.
In another move, Ashok Kumar Behuria, OAS (SAG), the Additional Secretary in the Information and Public Relations Department, has been appointed as the Chief Development Officer-cum-Executive Officer (CDO-cum-EO) for the Zilla Parishad in Kendrapada.
Ajambar Mohanty, who was the CDO-cum-EO of Kendrapada Zilla Parishad, will now transition to the Information and Public Relations Department as Additional Secretary.
Dr. Bijayananda Sethy, OAS (S), has been assigned as CDO-cum-EO for the Zilla Parishad in Puri, following the cancellation of his earlier role as General Manager of the Odisha Bridge and Construction Corporation (OB&CC).
Biranchi Narayan Darwan, OAS (S), the CDO-cum-EO for the Nabarangpur Zilla Parishad, is now designated as ADM for Boudh.
Dillip Kumar Pradhan, OAS (S), the Additional Executive Officer for the Zilla Parishad in Deogarh, has also been transferred to serve as ADM for Jharsuguda. Both have been appointed as ADMs under the provisions of BNSS, 2023.
Changes in Sub-Collector positions include Jyotikanta Bhujabal, OAS Group-A (Senior Branch), who shifts from Deputy Administrator (Revenue) for the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in Puri to Sub-Collector for Kendrapada, also taking on responsibilities as Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) for the same district.
Pushpak Kumar Pradhan, OAS Group-A (Senior Branch), who was the Block Development Officer (BDO) for Bamra, will now serve as Sub-Collector-cum-SDM for Kendujhar.
Arun Kumar Nayak, the outgoing Sub-Collector for Kendrapada, has been appointed as Additional Executive Officer for the Zilla Parishad in Puri.
Similarly, Uma Shankar Dalai, previously the Sub-Collector for Kendujhar, will now work as Deputy Secretary for the Odisha Sub-ordinate Staff Selection Commission (OSSSC) in Bhubaneswar.
Other notable appointments include Manoj Patra, OAS (S), who has been named General Manager (Administration) at the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited in Bhubaneswar on foreign service terms, with his previous assignment to Sambalpur Municipal Corporation canceled.
Saroj Kumar Behera, OAS (S), Joint Secretary in the Health and Family Welfare Department, who also held the position of Administrative Officer at the Odisha University of Health Sciences, has been relocated to serve as Special Land Acquisition Officer for the Mega Steel Plant in Patna, Kendujhar district.
The reshuffle also includes changes among Joint Secretaries in various departments, such as Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development, and Higher Education.
Numerous BDOs have been designated as Project Administrators for Integrated Tribal Development Agencies (ITDAs), while some officers have retained their current roles following the cancellation of prior transfer orders.
This latest reshuffle encompasses administrative roles across districts including Kendrapada, Kendujhar, Dhenkanal, Puri, Boudh, Subarnapur, Jharsuguda, Nabarangpur, and more within Odisha.
