The Centre has approved extension of service of Odisha Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra for another six months following a request from the State Government.
This was communicated to the State Government in a letter to the Principal Secretary to the Department of General Administration and Public Grievance by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under the the Ministry of Personnel, Personal Grievances and Pensions on August 23.
“I am directed to convey the approval of the Central Government for extension in service of Sri Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, IAS (OD; 1986), Chief Secretary, Government of Odisha, for a period of six months from 01.09.2022 to 28.02.2023 in relaxation of Rule 16(1) of the AIS(DCRB) Rules, 1958 by invoking Rule 3 of AIS(CS-RM)Rules, 1960,” the letter signed by Under Secretary, DoPT, Kuldeep Chaudhary stated.
This is the second such extension for Mahapatra, a 1986-batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre whose retirement was due on February 28 this year. He had got his first extension in January this year after the State Government had put forth a request to the Centre on December 31, 2021.
Notably, this is the first time that the Naveen Patnaik Government in its 22 years has extended a Chief Secretary’s term not only once but two times. Earlier, there was a buzz in the power corridor that Development Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena, from among about ten senior IAS officers, might be picked as the new Chief Secretary and Mahapatra was likely to be appointed as the Chairman of the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC).