The Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department of Odisha has appointed seven newly inducted IAS officers from the 2023 batch as Executive Officers for various municipalities across the state.
This initiative is part of the officers’ district training program, aimed at providing them with practical governance experience in urban local bodies (ULBs).
In a related development, the Odisha government has also nominated senior IAS officers as Secretary In Charge of 16 identified districts under the Aspirational Districts and Block Programme.
As per the notification from the H&UD department, Ashni AL has been assigned as the Executive Officer of Rairangpur Municipality in Mayurbhanj district, with financial authority from October 27 to November 17.
Tejaswini Behera will take charge as the Executive Officer of Talcher Municipality in Angul district, while Abhishek Dilip has been appointed as the Executive Officer for Jaleswar Municipality in Balasore district. Other notable appointments include Pranita Dash as the Executive Officer of Hinjilicut Municipality in Ganjam district and Preksha Agrawal as the Executive Officer of Anandpur Municipality in Keonjhar district.
To ensure a smooth transition, the current Executive Officers in these municipalities will continue to serve as Additional Executive Officers during the newly appointed IAS officers’ probationary training, facilitating effective leadership development.
While, a notification from the Planning & Convergence department outlines that these Secretary Level Officers will be responsible for reviewing progress in the identified districts as part of the initiatives under the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) and Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) set by NITI Aayog.
These appointments reflect the Odisha government’s commitment to enhancing governance and development across the state through skilled leadership and effective training programs.
Nominated Officers list given below-
