Chief Secretary Anu Garg today chaired a secretary-level meeting at Kharavel Bhawan to discuss several key issues and provide necessary directions and suggestions.
At the outset, following recent fire incidents in various places, Chief Secy Garg directed all government departments to conduct thorough inspections of electrical wiring in government buildings, ensure regular checks of electrical equipment, and undertake necessary upgrades while maintaining strict vigilance to prevent accidents.
The Finance Department presented the current financial position for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Discussions focused on departmental expenditures and revenue collections vis-à-vis budget targets. Sectors including Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Cooperation, Power, and various social sector departments have shown higher expenditure rates compared to the same period last year. Revenue realisation has reached approximately 78.77% of the target so far. Departments were instructed to accelerate spending and achieve full targets by the end of the current month.
The meeting deliberated on the “Ame Janiba Ama Budget” (We Will Know Our Budget) programme. Plans were discussed to organise “Budget Sabhas” at state, district, municipal, block, and gram sabha levels to inform the public about the upcoming 2026-27 State Budget and centrally sponsored development and welfare schemes related to Odisha. This initiative aims to enhance transparency and effective implementation of various programmes.
On human resource matters, detailed discussions were held on expediting the filling of vacant posts across departments. The state government has set a target to fill 65,000 vacant positions by June, out of which 41,063 posts have already been filled. The General Administration and General Services Department provided updates on steps being taken for the remaining vacancies.
The meeting reviewed the compliance status of important and urgent instructions issued by the Chief Minister to various departments through letters. Emphasis was placed on swift action. Progress on the 15-point agenda, particularly the flagship “36 for 36” projects and programmes aimed at achieving the goals of Viksit Odisha @2036 and Viksit Bharat @2047, was also reviewed. The Chief Secretary directed that progress on these initiatives be reviewed every month starting from April.
Additional Chief Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, presented details on the objectives and implementation steps for the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Paradeep Economic Region Development initiative (BCPPAR).
A detailed discussion was held on the i-GOT Karmayogi platform for enhancing employee skills through training. Out of 4,16,138 total employees in the state, 93% have been onboarded so far. Around 2 lakh employees are active users. Departments were directed to ensure all remaining officers and staff complete onboarding. Employees have been advised to complete at least one or more courses every month. The Odisha government has made it mandatory for employees to complete at least 20 hours of training annually under this platform, which will be reflected in their Performance Appraisal Reports (PAR).
The meeting was attended by Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary Deoranjan Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Commissioners-cum-Secretaries, and other senior officers from various departments.
