BHUBANESWAR: The State government on Wednesday appointed Sanjay Kumar Singh as Municipal Commissioner of Bhubaneswar after shunting out the incumbent Prem Chandra Chaudhary. The move coming as a surprise in the middle of the unwavering Covid second wave in the Capital city has led to a lot of speculations.
Though the State government did not elaborate why Chaudhary was shifted, it is said to be a result of incompetent handling of the Covid-19 situation by the officer. The administrative circles have been abuzz that gross mismanagement of the Covid situation in Bhubaneswar, specifically the vaccination drive which has been in a mess, may have prompted Chaudhary’s ouster.
His handling of the first wave of Covid last year had also come in for criticism and the raging second wave only exposed the poor state of affairs in city. Besides that BMC has been found struggling, sources also point out that there could be a more compelling reason for the State government to carry out the reshuffle. No senior official of the General Administration, however, was available for comment.
Sources maintained that two more officers would be posted in the BMC to manage the situation which is why an officer of Singh’s seniority has been posted. A 1997 batch IAS officer, Singh will also hold additional charge as Vice-Chairman of Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA). He was serving as Secretary, I and PR Department, Skill Development and Technical Education apart from CMD of Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation.
Chaudhary, a 2010 batch officer, has been posted as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in General Administration and Public Grievance department. The government also effected a minor senior-level bureaucratic reshuffle with three officers assigned additional charges. As per a notification issued by the General Administration department, 1995 batch officer Bishnupada Sethi, Principal Secretary of Revenue and Disaster Management with additional charge of Principal Secretary, Odia Language, Literature and Culture department will remain in additional charge of Principal Secretary, I&PR in addition to his own duties.
The 2002 batch IAS officer Krishan Kumar, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Works department with additional charge of Chief Administrator, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Puri and Chairman, Puri Konark Development Authority (PKDA) will be in additional charge of CMD, IDCO.
Similarly, Hemant Sharma, Secretary in Industries department with additional charge of Chairman, IPICOL will have additional charge of Skill Development and Technical Education department.