Odisha Govt Effects Minor Bureaucratic Reshuffle Ahead of Elections

Bhubaneswar: In preparation for the upcoming twin elections, the Odisha government made minor administrative adjustments on Wednesday. According to the General Administration department’s notification, Puri Collector Bijay Kumar Dash has been reassigned as the Commissioner of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC), while Siddharth Shankar Swain takes over as Puri Collector. Additionally, Ashish Thakare will now serve as Balasore Collector, swapping roles with Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde, who becomes the Collector of Mayurbhanj.

This reshuffle follows a directive from the Election Commission of India, mandating that officers transferred before elections should not be posted within the same parliamentary constituency. The policy also requires the transfer of officers serving in their home district or those with over three years in their current posting before Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

The upcoming simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are anticipated to occur in April. Notably, Thakare, who had been Keonjhar collector since January 2018, assumed the position of Mayurbhanj Collector in January as part of a significant reshuffle involving 38 IAS officers. Similarly, Swain, previously Angul Collector, took on the role of CMC Commissioner last month.

Das, who recently became Puri Collector, previously served as Secretary of the State Election Commission.