E-Paper
Three bureaucrats in Odisha CM office resign
Their resignations have been accepted by the General Administration & Public Grievance Department with effect from June 5
Three officials in Odisha chief minister’s office put in their papers on Thursday signalling a change in the state bureacracy.
The development comes two days after the defeat of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the assembly election ending the 24-year-long tenure of chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
Retired IAS officers R Balakrishnan, Suresh Chandra Mahapatra who served as chief advisor, Special Initiatives and chief advisor, Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) respectively resigned from their posts while principal secretary of IT and electronics department Manoj Mishra too put in his papers.
Their resignations have been accepted by the General Administration & Public Grievance Department with effect from June 5.
Also Read: Naveen Patnaik resigns as Odisha CM, paves way for new BJP government
Balakrishnan, a 1984-batch IAS officer was appointed as chief advisor (Special Initiatives) in CMO in the rank of Chief Secretary with responsibilities that included looking after Special Development Councils, Tribal Museum, Craft Museum, Input to Heritage Cabinet, Odia University and Odia Virtual Academy.
Balakrishnan’s appointment had come in for a lot of criticism over his proximity to erstwhile CM’s private secretary VK Pandian. In August 2019, he was made chief advisor to the chief minister.
In November last year, Mahapatra, former chief secretary and chairperson of Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission was appointed the new chief advisor to the chief minister’s office replacing Balakrishnan who continued as chief advisor, special initiatives.
Similarly, Mishra, a 2000-batch Indian Railway Traffic Service officer was appointed as principal secretary of the Electronics and Information Technology department on a contractual basis days after he resigned from all India service.
