The Centre has approved the extension of services of Odisha Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra for another six months. His tenure will now end on February 28, 2023. This is the second time the tenure of the CS got an extension.
In a letter to the Principal Secretary of State General Administration and Public Grievance department, the Ministry of Personnel, PG, and pension said the service of Mahapatra has been extended for a period of six months from September 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023 in relaxation of Rule 16(1) of the AIS(DCRB) Rules, 1958, by invoking Rule 3 of AIS(CS-RM) Rules, 1960.
Mohapatra, a 1986-batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre, was appointed as the Chief Secretary of the State in December 2020 replacing Asit Tripathy. His present tenure was scheduled to end in February 2022.
Earlier, the Odisha government had extended Mohapatra's tenure in view of the surge in Covid-19 cases and Panchayat and Municipal elections in the State.