The Odisha Higher Education Department has directed principals of all 488-category and 662-category Non-Government Aided Colleges across the state to submit details of pending Supreme Court orders linked to the Grant-in-Aid (GIA) 1994 scheme.
In an official communiqué issued on November 12, Director of Higher Education, Odisha, Kaliprasanna Mohapatra, instructed college authorities to identify and report cases of employees who have secured favourable orders from the apex court in connection with GIA-1994, but whose rulings have not yet been formally communicated to the department.
According to the letter, the Supreme Court had earlier disposed of several Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) by relying on the landmark judgment passed by the Orissa High Court in FAO No. 509/2014 and its connected batch cases. The department has now sought comprehensive records of employees from the concerned institutions—whether respondents or appellants in those matters—who obtained Supreme Court orders citing the said FAO, yet remain awaiting departmental action due to non-communication of the verdicts.
Labelling the directive as “Most Urgent,” the Director has instructed principals to furnish the requisite details within 15 days and ensure the entire verification exercise is completed no later than November 30, 2026.
Furthermore, college principals have been mandated to submit a formal undertaking certifying that the verification process is exhaustive and covers all eligible staff members—both those currently in active service and those who have already retired from their respective institutions.
The department’s proactive step is expected to bring much-needed relief and expedite the settlement of pending service and financial benefits for hundreds of teaching and non-teaching staff across Odisha’s aided colleges whose claims hinge on the GIA-1994 framework.
