BHUBANESWAR: Is the State government waiting for someone special to adorn the post of chairman of Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC)?
Speculations are rife that the government is waiting for Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra to complete his extended term of six months to accommodate him in the regulatory body. His six months tenure will end in August 2022. If that happens, Mahapatra will enjoy the post for four and half years as the tenure of OERC chairman is for five years or 65 years of age.
However, rumour mill has been on overdrive in the power corridor that the ruling dispensation is contemplating for giving another extension to Mahapatra ever since Union Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs Rajesh Verma, an Odisha cadre IAS of 1987 batch, showed signs of reluctance to join as Chief Secretary.
It has been nearly four months since a judicial member of the quasi-judicial body is officiating as acting chairman. The Energy department invited applications for the post of OERC chairperson on January 16, 2022, the day after the post holder UN Behera retired. The last date for applying for the post was January 21. Though several officers of all India service (AIS) from Odisha and other states applied for the post, the selection committee constituted by the State government is stated to have shortlisted three retired IAS officers.
One among the three is an Odisha cadre bureaucrat Arun Panda who retired as secretary in the Ministry of MSME. The other two are Union Territory cadre retired IAS officer Manoj Parida and Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS (redt) officer Pramod Das.
Sources familiar with the development said that Panda was tipped to be the next chairperson of OERC but his link with Tata Power came as a stumbling block. He is an independent director of Tata Power Southern Odisha Distribution Limited (TPSODL) and Tata Power Northern Odisha Distribution Limited (TPNODL). If selected, Parida who retired in February 2022, will have a five years term in OERC.
Pramod Das retired in June last year. As per section 85 of the Electricity Act, 2003, the process for selection of a suitable person as chairperson should have started six months before and the process completed within a maximum of three months. Currently, Gajendra Mohapatra, a member of the State Judicial Service and former District and Session Judge is the acting chairperson of OERC.