V. K. Pandian, the former private secretary to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his closest aide, who took voluntary retirement from Indian Administrative Services (IAS) last month, formally joined the Biju Janata Dal today in the presence of the CM and senior officials.
“Today our party supremo and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik officially inducted V. K. Pandian into the BJD. Mr. Pandian took Naveen Patnaik’s blessing after this. Speaking to the senior leaders, Naveen Patnaik said that just like Mr. Pandian had served the people of Odisha as a bureaucrat, he would continue to do the same while in the BJD. He will work towards taking forward Naveen Patnaik’s vision for the development of Odisha forward” stated Debi Mishra, senior leader of the BJD.
V. K. Pandian was named as the head of 5T (Transformational Initiative) and ‘Nabin Odisha’ in the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led government on October 24 this year. This happened a day after the Centre approved his voluntary retirement, He was working as Odisha Chief Minister’s private secretary.
V. K. Pandian is an Odisha cadre IAS officer from the 2000 batch. He began his civil service career as a sub-collector in Dharmagarh, Kalahandi district.
Mr. Pandian later worked as a collector in the Mayurbhanj and Ganjam districts before joining the Chief Minister’s office.
Mr. Pandian has played a vital role in many critical choices made by the Patnaik government in the last ten years since entering.
V. K. Pandian was the 5T Secretary to the State Government prior to seeking voluntary retirement. 5T is a governance charter that emphasizes Transparency, Technology, Teamwork, and Time, all of which lead to Transformation.
According to the State administration, this ensures the timely completion of several projects.
Mr. Pandian was also instrumental in major projects such as the Sri Jagannath Heritage Corridor. The Srimandir Parikrama project, which is expected to be finished this year, would construct a 75-metre-long walkway around the exterior wall of the Shree Jagannath Temple.
When finished, devotees will have an unobstructed view of the temple from a distance. The road would also offer devotees with amenities and improve security surrounding the facility. Along with Srimandir, Pandian oversaw the Odisha government’s initiative to renovate and restore ancient and revered temples around the state.
Mr. Pandian finished his tour of all 147 assembly constituencies in the state in September, bringing his six-month journey to all districts to a close. During the travels, he met with local residents to address urgent issues and toured heritage tourism sites to assess the development of their infrastructure under the 5T program.
Mr. Pandian is also reported to be the driving force behind Odisha’s flagship initiative, Mo Sarkar. Mo Sarkar aims to instill professionalism and long-term behavioral change in government offices and bureaucrats through a random feedback process that connects the government directly with citizens.
The Odisha government claims that it has allowed for more scrutiny of the government’s services provided to citizens.
Pandian’s formal entrance into the BJD is expected to play a crucial role as the BJD seeks a historic sixth term in office in the state elections in 2024. Since the year 2000, Naveen Patnaik has served as Chief Minister.
