Suresh Chandra Mohapatra was appointed as the State’s new Chief Secretary on Friday. The Government also appointed the 1986-batch IAS officer as the Chief Development Commissioner. Mohapatra will replace incumbent Chief Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy, who will retire on December 31. Mohapatra is currently serving as the Development Commissioner and holding additional charge as Working Chairperson of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA, Puri.
Outgoing Chief Secretary Tripathy was appointed as Chairman of the Western Odisha Development Council (WODC) besides being designated as the Principal Advisor to Chief Minister on Regional Development, Tourism, Agribusiness and Industry. With Mohapatra being elevated to the Chief Secretary post, senior IAS officer Pradeep Kumar Jena, who is serving as Additional Chief Secretary in the Revenue & Disaster Management Department and Special Relief Commissioner, was appointed as the Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary to the Government.