The Odisha government on Saturday implemented a minor reshuffle among senior-level IAS officers, making several key appointments and terminations.
According to a notification issued by the General Administration & Public Grievance Department, Deoranjan Kumar Singh, a 1993-batch IAS officer and the Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue & Disaster Management Department, has been allowed to retain his additional charge as Chairman of the Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC). The additional appointment of Vishal Kumar Dev, who previously held the post, has been terminated effective from the date Singh assumes the role.
In another change, Vishal Kumar Dev, a 1996-batch IAS officer serving as Principal Secretary in the E & IT Department, will continue to hold the additional charge of Principal Secretary of the Energy Department. As a result, the additional appointment of Hemant Sharma, the former Principal Secretary of the Energy Department, has been terminated.
The reshuffle also saw Sanjay Kumar Singh, a 1997-batch IAS officer and Principal Secretary of the Rural Development Department, being allowed to remain in charge of the Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare Department. Consequently, the additional charge of Vir Vikram Yadav as Principal Secretary of the department has been terminated.
Bhaskar Jyoti Sarma, a 1999-batch IAS officer and Principal Secretary of the Sports & Youth Services Department, will continue in his additional role as CMD of OPTCL (Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited).
Additionally, Girish SN, a 2002-batch IAS officer, has been appointed as the Commissioner-cum-Secretary to the Government in the P.R. & D.W. Department.
In another significant move, Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar, a 2008-batch IAS officer currently serving as Special Secretary in the P.R. & D.W. Department, has been appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary to the Government, Handloom, Textiles & Handicrafts Department. She will also retain the additional charge of Commissioner-cum-Secretary in the Excise Department. As a result, the additional appointments of Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee as Principal Secretary of Handloom, Textiles & Handicrafts and Sushil Kumar Lohani as Principal Secretary of Excise Department have been terminated.
