Naveen Patnaik drops Odisha higher education minister after performance review

Rohit Pujari was inducted as Odisha higher education minister in June last year as part of Naveen Patnaik’s overhaul of the council of ministers

Updated on: Jun 9, 2023, 15:54:36 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday dropped higher education minister Rohit Pujari from the state cabinet after a detailed review of the state’s departments, people familiar with the matter said.

Naveen Patnaik reviewed performances of all departments between May 22 and June 2. The performance of the Pujari-led higher education department was at the bottom of the list (Twitter/DHE_Odisha)

Pujari, a two-time legislator, was inducted as the higher education minister during Patnaik’s overhaul of the council of ministers in June last year.

A person aware of the matter said Patnaik reviewed the performances of all the departments between May 22 and June 2 and the performance of Pujari’s higher education department was at the bottom of the list.

The person said the chief minister has recommended to governor Ganeshi Lal to drop Pujari from his team.

Food and supplies minister Atanu S Nayak has been given charge of the higher education department.

The sacking came days after the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking for the year 2023 put the state-run Utkal University at rank 93, down from rank 88 in 2022 and 87 in 2021. In 2020, the state was assigned rank 96.

Last month, Patnaik had reshuffled his ministry after school and mass education minister Samir Ranjan Dash and labour minister Srikant Sahu resigned following their alleged involvement in suicide of a BJD leader and a scandal respectively.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More