Odisha Chief Secretary leaves for Centre

Gokul Pati to take charge as the new top bureaucrat

The Union government today appointed Odisha Chief Secretary Jugal Kishor Mohapatra as the secretary of the Department of Fertilizers in the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.

Appointment of Mohapatra, along with nine others was notified after the Cabinet Committee on Appointments approved the decision. He will be filling up the post at the Centre vacated by another Oriya bureaucrat Saktikanta Das, who has recently moved to Department of Revenue under the Finance Ministry. Mohapatra, who assumed charge as the Chief Secretary of the state a year ago in July 2013, will be replaced by Gokulananda Pati, who is currently working as Secretary of Defence Production in the Ministry of Defence.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has given his nod to the appointment of Pati as the new Chief Secretary. The state government has already sent a letter to the Union Government requesting for Pati's return to the state. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left on a foreign tour, it is likely that his repatriation will be cleared in about two weeks.

The Union government also appointed two other Odia IAS officers in Central secretariat. Sanjaya Panda, currently working as the Chief Secretary of the Tripura government, has been posted as Secretary in the Textile Ministry. Similarly Harekrushna Das, a Gujarat cadre IAS officer, will take charge as Secretary in the Inter State Council under the Union Home Ministry, as per a press release issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).