The State Government on Saturday effected a minor reshuffle among IAS officers and appointed Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra as Chairman of the Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC).
Mohapatra, a 1988-batch IAS officer, will replace Parag Gupta. Currently, Mohapatra is working as the Additional Chief Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department. He was on leave since September 14 and joined the duty on Saturday. Gupta, a 1988-batch IAS officer, was appointed as Additional Chief Secretary of the Public Enterprises Department. He is presently working as the OFDC Chairman. Also, the Government appointed 1991-batch IAS officer Vijay Arora as Officer of Special Duty (OSD) of the General Administration and Public Grievance Department. Arora is working as the Principal Secretary of Public Enterprises Department.
Pradipta Mohanpatra’s appointment as the OFDC Chairman is interpreted as a move to drop him from the race for the post of Chief Secretary, which with remain vacant early next year after superannuation of Suresh Chandra Mahapatra.
