Bhubaneswar, 12 March (H.S.): In a significant administrative move, the Odisha government carried out a major reshuffle of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers on Thursday, reassigning several officials across departments and districts to enhance governance and administrative efficiency.

According to an official notification from the General Administration and Public Grievance (GA&PG) Department, 2012-batch IAS officer Manish Agarwal, who was serving as Additional Special Relief Commissioner with additional charge as Additional Secretary in the Planning and Convergence Department, has been appointed Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Odisha.

Smruti Ranjan Pradhan, IAS officer and Additional Secretary in the Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department, has been appointed Managing Director of the Odisha Small Industries Corporation, while retaining additional charge as Chief Executive Officer of Startup Odisha. Consequently, the additional charge of CEO, Startup Odisha, previously held by IAS officer Rashmita Panda, has been withdrawn.

Meanwhile, Siddhartha Das, former Registrar of Cooperative Societies, has been posted as Director of Fisheries. Madhusmita Sahoo, Additional Secretary in the Revenue and Disaster Management Department with additional charge as Director of Revenue Officers’ Training Institute, has been appointed Director of Teachers’ Education and the State Council of Educational Research and Training (TE and SCERT), while continuing as Additional Secretary in the School and Mass Education Department.

At the divisional level, the government has allowed Upama Kalo, Additional Commissioner (Settlement and Consolidation) in the office of Revenue Divisional Commissioner, Sambalpur, to continue as Secretary to the RDC (Northern Division). Similarly, Lily Kumari Kullu, Additional Secretary in the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, has been posted as Additional Secretary in the Public Enterprises Department.

The district-level reshuffle also includes significant postings. Somesh Kumar Upadhyay, Collector and District Magistrate of Malkangiri, has been appointed Director of Textiles and Handlooms, while Prathamesh Arvind Rajeshirke, Commissioner of Berhampur Municipal Corporation with additional charge as Vice Chairman of Berhampur Development Authority, has been posted as Collector and District Magistrate of Malkangiri.

Among the 2022-batch officers, Akavaram Sasya Reddy, Sub-Collector of Jeypore, has been appointed Commissioner of Berhampur Municipal Corporation, holding additional charge as Vice Chairman of the Berhampur Development Authority. Akshay Pillay, Sub-Collector of Bonei, has been posted as Additional District Magistrate of Paradeep in Jagatsinghpur district. Arugula Sneha, Sub-Collector of Padampur, will now serve as Chief Development Officer-cum-Executive Officer of Zilla Parishad, Mayurbhanj.

Other district appointments include Samir Kumar Jena, Sub-Collector of Talcher, as CDO-cum-EO of Zilla Parishad, Ganjam, and Soumyaranjan Pradhan, Sub-Collector of Rairangpur, as CDO-cum-EO of Zilla Parishad, Kalahandi.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda