The Odisha government Tuesday effected a bureaucratic reshuffle transferring senior IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi to the General Administration & Public Grievance Department as Office on Special Duty (OSD).
1995-batch IAS officer, Bishnupada Sethi was serving as the Principal Secretary to the Government, Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Department with an additional charge of Principal Secretary to Government, Odia Language, Literature & Culture Department and Principal Secretary to Government, ST&SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department.
“The post of Officer on Special Duty, General Administration & Public Grievance Department is declared equivalent in status and responsibility to the post of Principal Secretary provided in the IAS Cadre of the State,” the notification read.
The State government appointed 1997-batch IAS officer, Sanieeb Kumar Mishra, appointed as Principal Secretary to Government, ST&SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department on repatriation from Central Deputation.
IAS Sanieeb Kumar Mishrais allowed to remain in additional charge of Principal Secretary to Government, Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Department and Principal Secretary to Government, Odia Language, Literature & Culture Department.
The additional appointment of Shri Bishnupada Sethi, IAS as Principal Secretary to Government, ST&SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department and Principal Secretary to Government, Odia Language, Literature & Culture Department shall
stand terminated from the date IAS Mishra, takes over,
Further, 2006-batch IAS officer Manoj Kumar Sahoo has been appointed as Special Secretary to the Chief Minister, on joining the State government on lnter-Cadre Deputation.
Senior IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi is likely to be questioned by the CBI in Delhi instead of its Bhubaneswar office for his suspected link with Chanchal Mukherjee, a senior official of Bridge and Roof Company Ltd, who was arrested in a bribery case on Dec 7.
The development coincided with the CBI reportedly issuing notices to some officers of the works and rural development department for allegedly showing undue favour to Bridge and Roof Company Ltd in the allotment of tenders. CBI sources said an IAS officer, who was earlier posted in the ST&SC development department, may also be questioned.
Senior IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi may be interrogated by the CBI in Delhi, rather than at its Bhubaneswar office, due to his alleged association with Chanchal Mukherjee, a high-ranking official of Bridge and Roof Company Ltd, who was apprehended on December 7 in a bribery case.
The development coincided with reports of the CBI issuing notices to certain officers from the works and rural development department, accusing them of favouring Bridge and Roof Company Ltd in the distribution of tenders.