In her first secretary-level meeting since assuming the role of Odisha’s Chief Secretary, Anu Garg presided over discussions with department secretaries, emphasising the implementation of 15 key agendas directed by the Chief Minister.
The meeting focused on enhancing governance efficiency, accelerating development projects, and aligning state initiatives with national goals.
Garg directed officials to prioritise making administration efficient, accountable, and people-oriented. She reviewed the two-year action plan for Odisha Vision 2036 and 2047, stressing the need to achieve double-digit growth rates through targeted actions. Key directives included filling vacant positions across departments swiftly, taking exemplary action against underperforming employees, and preparing an annual training calendar under Mission Karmayogi for government staff.
The Chief Secretary emphasised qualitative project execution, expediting infrastructure development in sectors like ports, roads, bridges, drinking water, irrigation, energy, and urban growth. For rural development, she highlighted Mission “POWER,” aiming to ensure electricity, piped drinking water, and all-weather roads in every village.
Garg mandated that all government presentations (PPTs) and meeting minutes be prepared in Odia, and department websites be updated in both Odia and English. Public grievances must be resolved within 10 days, with details provided to complainants. Secretaries and senior officials were instructed to log district visit details on the inspection portal and ensure follow-up actions.
The meeting began with a review of the state’s financial performance. With three months left in the fiscal year, Garg urged departments to accelerate spending to meet the 2025-26 budget targets and outlined specific steps to achieve revenue collection goals.
Drawing from the 5th National Chief Secretaries’ Conference held in New Delhi on December 27-28, Garg discussed critical national priorities and their implementation in Odisha. These included transforming Anganwadi centres into “happiness hubs” with improved infrastructure, ensuring toilets in all centres by International Women’s Day on March 8. In higher education, focus was on quality teaching, research, skill development programs, and employment-oriented curricula in coordination with the Skill Development Department.
Other areas highlighted were fostering dignity of labour through training in diverse fields like digital skills; integrating sports and extracurriculars in school curricula; enhancing tourism infrastructure for high-quality experiences; promoting Atmanirbhar Bharat and Swadeshi ecosystems; creating livelihood opportunities in Maoist-affected areas; and aligning departmental strategies with national value-added agriculture goals to boost Odisha’s contribution to India’s global standing.
Garg praised the secretaries’ contributions to policy-making and field operations, calling for teamwork to achieve Viksit Odisha 2036 and Viksit Bharat 2047.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretaries Satyabrata Sahu, Deoranjan Kumar Singh, and Surendra Kumar, along with other department heads, commissioners, and secretaries.
