Odisha Executes Major Administrative Reshuffle; 42 OAS Officers Transferred

The notifications—ranging from Notification No. 34449/SCS to No. 34490/SCS—realign administrative postings across critical ministries including Commerce & Transport, GA & PG, Fisheries & ARD, PR & DW, Agriculture, and Skill Development, alongside several district-level administration swaps.

Key Secretariat & Departmental Level Shifts

Under the new notifications:

• Bidhan Chandra Ray, OAS (SS), Special Secretary to Government, Commerce & Transport Department, has been transferred and posted as Special Secretary to Government, Fisheries & Animal Resources Development (F & ARD) Department.

• Prabeer Kumar Nayak, OAS (SAG), Additional Commissioner, Additional Revisional Court, Bhubaneswar, moves to the Commerce & Transport Department as Additional Secretary.

• Saroj Kumar Rout, OAS (SAG), Additional Secretary, Commerce & Transport Department, is posted as Additional Secretary, GA & PG Department, while his earlier under-orders-of-transfer (UoT) posting to the Chief Minister’s Grievance Cell (CMGC) stands cancelled.

• Purna Chandra Dolayi, OAS (SAG), moves from Fisheries & ARD to Commerce & Transport Department as Additional Secretary.

• Priyabrata Padhi, OAS (SAG), Additional Secretary at the Odisha Subordinate Staff Selection Commission (OSSSC), is posted as Additional Secretary to Government, GA & PG Department.

• Prakash Chandra Behera, OAS (SAG), Rent Officer, GA & PG (Rent) Department, moves as Additional Secretary to Skill Development & Technical Education Department, with Dipti Mohapatra, OAS (SAG), replacing him as Rent Officer, GA & PG (Rent).

• Sasmita Sahoo, OAS (SAG), Additional Commissioner, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), has been appointed as Additional Secretary to Government, Excise Department.

Key District Administration & Field Level Postings

The state government has also reassigned several senior officers in district administrations and appointed them as Additional District Magistrates (ADM) under Sub-Section (2) of Section 14 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023:

• Aniruddha Pradhan, OAS (SAG) (ADM, Boudh) is transferred and appointed as ADM, Subarnapur.

• Pratap Pritimaya, OAS (SAG) is posted and appointed as ADM, Dhenkanal, cancelling his previous assignment to the Revenue & Disaster Management Department.

• Biranchi Narayan Daruvan, OAS (S) (CDO-cum-EO, Zilla Parishad, Nabarangpur) is appointed as ADM, Boudh.

• Dillip Kumar Pradhan, OAS (S), is transferred and appointed as ADM, Jharsuguda.

• Ramesh Chandra Sethi, OAS (SAG) (ADM, Dhenkanal) moves to the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) as Additional Commissioner on foreign service terms.

Sub-Divisional & Local Body Appointments

In field-level Sub-Collector postings under Sub-Section (4) of Section 14 of BNSS, 2023:

• Jyotikanta Bhujabal, OAS Gr.A (SB) moves from Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA), Puri, to serve as Sub-Collector / Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Kendrapada.

• Pushpak Kumar Pradhan, OAS Gr.A (SB) (BDO, Bamra) is appointed as Sub-Collector / Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Kendujhar, taking over from Shri Uma Shankar Dalai, OAS Gr.A (SB), who has been appointed as Deputy Secretary, OSSSC, Bhubaneswar.

Postings Retained or Cancelled

The notification also explicitly retained a few officers in their present positions by cancelling prior transfer orders:

• Gitanjali Nayak, OAS (SAG) continues as Additional Secretary, PR & DW Department (cancellation of transfer to E & IT Department).

• Swagat Das, OAS Gr.A (SB) continues as BDO, Baranga (cancellation of transfer to BDA).

• Jyoti Prakash Sethy, OAS Gr.A (SB) continues as OSD, OCAC, Bhubaneswar.

This extensive bureaucratic reshuffle comes as part of regular administrative realignment aimed at strengthening key secretariat departments and streamlining field administration across Odisha.