In a significant administrative move, the state government on Monday appointed 16 senior IAS officers as secretaries responsible for 16 aspirational districts under the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) and Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) of NITI Aayog.
The newly appointed officers will review the progress of various developmental schemes and initiatives undertaken in these districts under the ADP and ABP, according to a notification issued by the state’s Planning and Convergence Department. The appointments are aimed at ensuring more focused and effective implementation of welfare measures and to bring about measurable improvements in the targeted areas.
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The district assignments are as follows:
- G Mathivathanan, Director General of the Gopabandhu Academy of Administration, has been given the charge of Balangir district.
- Hemant Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary of the Industries Department, will oversee Sambalpur, taking over from his previous role as the secretary in charge of Keonjhar district.
Additionally, four other senior officers have been entrusted with the responsibility of the following districts:
- Sanjay Kumar Singh will be in charge of Nayagarh.
- Saswat Mishra will oversee Dhenkanal.
- Suresh Kumar Vashisth has been assigned the task of monitoring progress in Mayurbhanj.
- Subha Sarma will oversee Malkangiri district.
Six officers holding the rank of secretary will be responsible for the following districts:
- R Santhanagopalan – Kandhamal
- Girish S N – Kalahandi
- Awasthy S – Gajapati
- Rajesh Pravakar Patil – Koraput
- Arvind Agarwal – Rayagada
- Balwant Singh – Keonjhar
Other notable appointments include:
- D Prasanth K Reddy, Director of Industries, will oversee Nuapada.
- Bijay Ketan Upadhaya, Director of Odia Language, Literature, and Culture, has been tasked with supervising Nabarangpur district.
- Sudhansu Mohan Samal, Managing Director of OMC, will be in charge of Bargarh district.
This appointment is a revision of the previous notification issued on October 9, 2024. The state government had initially appointed one senior officer for each of the 30 districts to ensure the proper implementation of welfare measures. However, under the new structure, officers assigned to the aspirational districts will focus specifically on reviewing the progress of the ADP and ABP, which aim to improve the living standards and socio-economic development of these areas.
The state has 29 aspirational blocks, and these new appointments are part of a broader initiative to fast-track development in the most underdeveloped regions of the state.
