The Odisha government today effected an administrative reshuffle replacing collectors of eight districts and giving new assignments to a few other senior bureaucrats. The district collectors of Balasore, Dhenkanal, Bolangir, Koraput, Keonjhar, Gajapati, Malkangiri and Nawarangpur districts have been changed.

Ms Shalini Pandit, presently working as the Managing Director (MD) of the National Health Mission (NHM) in the state, has been given additional charge of State Project Director, OPEPA, State project Director, RMSA and Director, Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya Sangathan. Mr Pravat Kumar Lenka, presently Additional Secretary of Forest•and Environment Department, has been appointed as Additional Secretary of Public Enterprises Department.

Dhenkanal collector Bhupendra S. Poonia has been appointed as State Project Director, OPEPA, Bhubaneswar while Nikhil Pavan Kalyan, at present commissioner, Berhampur Municipal Corporation, Berhampur, replaced Poonia as Dhenknal collector. N. Thirumala Naik, collector of Keonjhar has been shifted as collector Bolangir and Ashish Thakare moved from Bolangir to Keonjhar. Rashmita Panda, the district collector of Nawarangpur has been posted as Chief Executive Officer, Rourkela Smart City Ltd.

It is pertinent to note that Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram had recently raised the issue of neglect of Rourkela and enumerated the various vacancies in key posts, including that of the CEO of the Smart City project. The Gajapati collector, Sudhansu Mohan Samal was today posted as Director, Horticulture.

Sudarshan Chakravarthy, at present Collector and District Magistrate, Malkangiri is appointed as Collector and District Magistrate, Koraput while Anupam Saha the collector of Koraput has been moved to Gajapati district.

Manish Agrawal, the Executive Director, CMGI, G.A & PG. (AR) Department has been sent to Malkangiri as the district collector and Balasore collector Pramod Kumar Das has been transferred as special secretary, planning department. Ramesh Rout posted as district collector of Balasore. Ajit Kumar Mishra has been made collector Nawarangpur . He was the additional secretary health department.