BHUBANESWAR: Ending all speculations, the Odisha government on Sunday appointed 1989-batch IAS officer Pradeep Kumar Jena as the chief secretary. He will succeed Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, who superannuates on February 28 after two successive extensions of six months each.
In a minor bureaucratic reshuffle, the government has also posted 1991-batch IAS officer Anu Garg as development commissioner. She will also continue as the additional chief secretary of the Water Resources department. The orders will come into effect from March 1, a notification issued by the General Administration department stated.
Jena is now serving as additional chief secretary cum development commissioner and secretary to the government in Planning and Convergence department with additional charge of agriculture production commissioner, special relief commissioner and managing director of Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA).
Born on January 1, 1964 in Dhenkanal district, Jena was first posted as Sub Collector of Dharmagarh in Kalahandi in 1991 and subsequently promoted as project director of DRDA and collector of the district.
He also served as collector of Kendrapara and Cuttack. He efficiently handled the Super Cyclone in 1999 as the collector of Cuttack and was lauded by both the state government and the Centre. Jena had also joined UNDP and was instrumental in formulating a progressive rehabilitation and resettlement policy for the state.
His stint as secretary of the Energy department for a period of over six years, he handled the crucial energy infrastructure that had crumbled post Super Cyclone. He had also served as chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration and brought some reforms in streamlining the management of the 12th century shrine.
A postgraduate in applied geology, Jena had also served as secretary in Panchayatiraj and Information Technology departments and principal secretary in the Rural Development department. One of the longest serving principal secretaries of the Water Resources department, he led the team to spread the irrigation network across the state. Quick response during natural calamities was the hallmark of his service as the special relief commissioner.
Meanwhile, the state government has appointed outgoing chief secretary Mahapatra as the chairperson of the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC). The post was vacant for over a year.
Mahapatra had earlier served as secretary of the Energy Department and chairman of OPGC, OHPC, OTPCL and Gridco.