With the creation of additional 125 posts, the total OAS cadre strength has been enhanced to 1,313 in the state, said Chief Secretary S.C. Mahapatra.
The cabinet has also decided to return 206.685 acres of land acquired in Kalipalli village of Ganjam district to the original land owners or to the legal heirs as per the provision of Rule 20 of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Compensation, Rehabilitation and Resettlement and Development Plan) Rules, 2015.
The land was acquired two decades ago for a Tata Steel project. However, the land remained unutilised. So, for a larger public interest, the government has decided to return it to the original land owners, Mahapatra said. The compensation amount paid to the land owners has been waived, he added.
The state government has also decided to pay the dues of Rs 100.06 crore to L&T for the work strengthening & widening of Sambalpur-Rourkela road out of ADB assistance.
Similarly, the proposal to amend the Odisha Pani Panchayat Act, 2002 was also approved by the cabinet.
Moreover, the state has decided to revise the scale of pay of judicial officers of the state with effect from January, 2016. The state government will bear additional Rs 93 crore per year for this purpose, said the chief secretary.
Demanding arrest of persons who thrashed BDO Bijay Sethi and seeking security for OAS officers, the members of the association launched their strike today. The protestors have also threatened to intensify their agitation and to launch a pen-down strike if their demands are not met.
Bhakta Charan Pradhan, secretary of the association reportedly informed that if the culprits are not arrested soon, the association will launch a pen-down strike from Tuesday.
According to sources, on August 21, Sethi during his field visit to Hunda panchayat in Nuasahi was attacked by unidentified people. However, it's alleged that despite four days have passed since the incident the police is yet to arrest the culprits.
OAS Sunil Kumar Nayak, Development Officer, Western Odisha Development Council is transferred and posted as Secretary, Odisha Human Rights Commission while Ashok Kumar Nayak, Special Secretary, Revenue and DM department has been posted as Commissioner, Consolidation, Bhubaneswar.
Rabindranath Sahoo, Managing Director, Boyanika is transferred and posted as Additional Secretary, GA and PG department.
Similarly, Krushna Chandra Pati is the new Additional Secretary, Electronics and IT department.
Prasanta Kumar Rath presently ADM Nayagarh is transferred and posted as Additional Secretary, Higher Education department while Prasanna Kumar Das, UoT as PD, DUDA will replace Rath as the new Nayagarh ADM.
Satyabrat Ray has been posted as Secretary, Odisha Public Service Commission while Rupak Kumar Patnaik, PA, ITDA Rairangpur is posted as APD, DRDA, Balasore on foreign service terms and conditions.
Likewise, Pragnya Dhara Mishra, Land Officer, IDCO is posted as Deputy Secretary, Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts department while Ananta Narayan Singh Laguri, PA ITDA, Nilagiri is transferred as PA, ITDA, Rairangpur.
As per the notification issued by OPSC, the duration of Paper-I and Paper-II will be of two hours each. While Paper-I will be from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm, Paper-II will begin at 2 pm and finish at 4 pm respectively.
Paper-I comprises of 100 General Studies objective type questions, whereas Paper-II will also be objective type General Studies but there will be 80 questions in total.
However, all persons with disabilities (candidates) will be given an additional 40 minutes in each sitting i.e. from 10.30 am to 1.10pm and 2pm to 4.40pm.
The notification further stated that the 'Admission Certificate' of the concerned eligible candidates and 'Instruction to Candidates' will be available on the official website of OPSC later. The candidates are required to visit the website of the Commission frequently to download their Admission Certificate and Instruction to Candidates.
Note: For more information, visit the official website of OPSC http://opsc.gov.in
Despite all odds and after a prolonged legal battle, Sanyasi cracked the civil service examination conducted by the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) in 2015.
After undergoing a four-month-training at the Gopabandhu Academy of Administration in Sambalpur, he has arrived at the Puri Collectorate for field training. He will be given training at the offices of Sub-Collector, PD DRDA and all other offices on the premises of the district Collectorate.
“We are very impressed with his achievement. Despite being completely visually-impaired and without any companion, he grasped everything during the training yesterday. I, on behalf of the district administration, congratulate, him for his achievement,” said an official of the district collectorate.
With cooperation from all, Sanyasi hopes to successfully complete his probation period at the Puri Collectorate and is ready to be inducted at any location across the state. However, Sanyasi went through various hurdles and legal battles before achieving this feat.
The visually-impaired man was disheartened when the OPSC came out with a rule disallowing disabled persons from appearing for the state civil service examinations.
"I had appealed the OPSC and Odisha Disability Commission to amend the rule. But they rejected my plea. In 2006, I filed a case with the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) but the case was not even listed for hearing for five years though I had hired experienced lawyers. Then I decided to fight for justice on my own and filed a PIL in the High Court in 2011. The order came in 2014."
Even after all this, when OPSC released its fresh advertisement in 2015; it had stated that persons with 100 percent blindness cannot sit for the exam. However, this did not stop Sanyasi from pursuing his goal. He again appealed before the State Commission for Persons With Disability that took his grievance with all seriousness though there was objection at high level initially.
Later, his appeal got approved by Chief Minister, after which the OPSC 1991 rules were amended that allowed visually-impaired persons to appear for the civil service examinations.
After all the legal battles and against all odds, Sanyashi Behera sat for the civil service exam in 2015 and qualified the test.
"Being an activist, I used to work in the daytime and prepare for exam in night. I didn't have sufficient books and other study materials. My wife and daughter used to read out ink printed books for me. Only a few literature books were made available to me from the Library of Congress in Washington DC of the USA," he said.
While OAS posts have been increased from 1,550 to 1,700, the number of OFS posts have increased from 723 to 800, informed Chief Secretary, Aditya Prasad Padhi.
The Cabinet meeting which was chaired by Naveen Patnaik today also gave its nod to set up a Handlooms and Handicrafts development and promotion council to boost industry’s growth and ensure welfare of artisans. The government will provide Rs 20 crore during the current financial year to the council.
"The council would assess the impact of various schemes and programmes being implemented for weavers, artisans and advise the government in framing of policies for the handloom and handicraft sectors," said Padhi.
The Cabinet also decided to upgrade the cadres of Odisha Motor Vehicle Department. From now on, a Senior Class I officer will be appointed as Regional Transport Officer (RTO) and Junior Class I officer will be appointed as Motor Vehicle Inspector (MVI).
Besides, the Cabinet also cleared the Odisha Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Rules 2017.
https://youtu.be/KegHKMhJjDg
Mentioned below is a list of 35 OAS officers and their new place of posting as per a notification by the General Administration department.
Sasadhar Nayak: General Manager, Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) Dhananjay Swain: Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Kendrapara
Kamal Lochan Mishra: General Manager, Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC)
Manoj Kumar Mohnaty: ADM, Bhubaneswar
Abanikanta Pattnaik: Project Director (PD), District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Angul
Dilip Kumar Sahoo: Sub Collector, Nayagarh
Tapan Kumar Majhi, Sub Collector, Padmapur
Sukanta Kumar Patnaik: Addtional Project Director (APD), DRDA, Rayagada
Tapan Kumar Satapathy: Sub Collector, Kuchinda
Sukanta Kumar Behera: Land Officer, (Works)
Sarat Kumar Purohit: Sub Collector, Baripada
Asit Kumar Panda: Special Land Acquisition Officer (LAO), Water Resources
Nimai Chandra Sutar: Sub Collector, Boudh
Srikanta Tarai: APD DRDA, Puri
Chittaranjan Sahoo: Special LAO, Water Resources
Rama Chandra Jena: Special LAO, Water Resources
Manoranjan Mahapatra: Project Administrator (PA), Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Kuchinda
Niranjan Behera: PD Rehabilitation & Resettlement (R&R) Water Resources,
Bimalnedu Mishra: Sub Collector, Deogarh
Sambit Kumar Nayak: APD DRDA, Bhadrakh
Ananta Vijaya Patnaik: PA ITDA, Sundargarh
Paresh Chandra Marandi: APD, DRDA, Keonjhar
Kanhu Charan Mallick: APD, DRDA, Balasore
Kantharam Majhi: Special LAO, Water Resources
Kalpataru Behera: Sub Collector, Kamakshya Nagar
Manoj Kumar Behera: Deputy Commissioner, Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC)
Kailash Chandra Nayak: Special LAO, Water Resources
Susanta Kumar Mishra: Commissioner, Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BrMC)
Manas Ranjan Padhi: PA, ITDA, Nilgiri
Ghasiram Murmu: Sub Collector, Nilgiri
Dilip Kumar Parida: Secretary, Puri-Konark Development Authority (PKDA), Puri
Lopamudra Mohanty: Additional Sub Collector, Puri
Manas Ranjan Samal: Sub Collector, Bhubaneswar
Binaya Kumar Dash: General Manager (Operation), Smart City
Ashok Kumar Panda: PD (R&R) Water Resources,
SBK Pradhan: General Manager, Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC)
Rashmi Ranjan Nayak: Additional Sub Collector, Chhatrapur.
“Corruption is present in all types of services, but not all the officers are corrupt. Afew good people can bring a change in the system. We should set an example for others,” said Panda, a veterinary service holder, in an interview with OTV.
In her reaction after emerging topper, Panda said, “I had not expected to secure the No.1 rank. Though I had thought I would be among the top 20, I never expected to be the topper. Soon after the result was announced late in the night yesterday, my friend called me up from Bhubaneswar and congratulated to me. I sleepily replied to my friend with a ‘Thank You’. But when I asked why you are congratulating me, my friend said you have got No 1 rank in the OAS examination. It was beyond my expectation. I was happy that the results had finally been declared after so much effort and four-five years of patient waiting. I do not have words to express how happy I am after this kind of achievement.”
“The credit for my success goes to family members, colleagues and friends. Apart from my parents, my in-laws and husband cooperated with me a lot. In 2011, when I sat for the Prelims of the civil services, I was single and my parents were my inspiration. By the time the Mians were held In 2014, I was married. As a married woman, it is very difficult to manage home, study and achieve something. My in-laws and husband helped me out with household chores and cooperated with me a lot. They did not create any obstacle and gave me ample scope,” said a grateful Pushpanjali.
Regarding a query on whether she ever was depressed and frustrated with the delay in the announcement of the result, Panda said, “Depression and frustration are part of life. But those who can overcome them, be patient and keep their morale high while preparing will certainly achieve their goal.”
To a query on when she decided to be an administrator, Panda said, “From my school days, my ambition was to be an administrator. I was born and brought up in Koraput district as my parents were working with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. I have seen the suffering of tribal people. From my school days, they have been saying we will approach a BDO or Tehsildar to solve our problems. Since then, I was thinking are they really so powerful? That thought remained within me as I was growing up. After finishing school, when I studied Veterinary Science, I came to know about my seniors joining the IAS, which also had an effect on me. Since my school days, I had an ambition to be a civil servant.”
Asked about the areas she would focus on to resolve the issues of the backward region, Panda stated, “First of all, the focus will be illiteracy. Before announcement of the OAS result, I have been working with veterinary services. I am still on the job as I have not resigned yet. I know people are not aware what can be done regarding an issue and what schemes are available for them. Therefore, I think people’s participation is important. Once I come to the official post, I will ensure people are aware of what the government has done for them and what facilities are being provided so that they will avail the benefit of those schemes.”
Panda further said, “I will ensure that the motto of the service, which I am going to join, is fulfilled.”
She had Veterinary Sciences and Geography as optional subjects in the OAS examination. “Veterinary Science was my parent subject as I have graduated in that whereas Geography is a subject of my interest. Even in IAS, I had Geography as an optional subject.”
Asked if she tried to join the IAS too, Panda said, “Yes I had attempted for the IAS. In the last all-India civil service examination, I fell short yb 17 marks from qualifying it. I have exhausted three attempts and will definitely try one last time.”
Panda said, “Division of time is necessary to prepare for the civil services exam. As a housewife, I have to household work at home though I do get cooperation from all. During free time, with some rest, I used to study the subjects within the limited period with proper division of time.”
Asked where she would like to work, Panda said, “Anywhere in Odisha. When I have joined the service, I have no priority regarding the location, be it Koraput or Balangir.”