Manoj Ahuja Back In Odisha To Take Charge As Chief Secy; Know Other Non-Odias Who Held The Post

Bhubaneswar: Senior IAS officer Manoj Ahuja arrived in Bhubaneswar on Sunday to take charge as the next Chief Secretary of Odisha.

The 1990-batch cadre officer is all set to succeed Pradeep Kumar Jena whose retirement is due on Sunday. Ahuja will also hold additional charge of secretary, general administration department.

The appointment of Ahuja has triggered sharp reaction from certain quarters, including opposition BJD and Congress, stating that it was a new definition of ‘Odia Asmita’ which was the central theme of the BJP’s campaign for the recent elections.

It is being claimed that BJD remained in power in the state under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik for the last 24 years and no one from outside Odisha was appointed Chief Secretary during the period. It is being stated that someone from outside the state is going to hold the top post after four decades.

A native of Haryana, Ahuja was on central deputation since 2017. He has been repatriated to the parent cadre on the request of the state government.

While the bureaucracy and political circles are agog with speculation about what tilted the scales in Ahuja’s favour, observers cite some plausible reasons behind his elevation. P K Jena, whose six-month extension ends on June 30 (Sunday), belongs to the 1989-batch. Ahuja along with Nitin Chandra, Sanjeev Chopra and Gudey Srinivas belongs to 1990 batch of the Odisha cadre. Though all of them are on central deputation, the government picked Ahuja over others. His wife Arti Ahuja also belongs to the 1990 batch but she has retired.

Ahuja, who is due for superannuation in December 2024, has vast administrative experience. He was last posted as the Union agriculture secretary. He had earlier served in key positions like special director of Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Admin (LBSNAA) and chairman, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

During his service with the state government, Ahuja had served as secretary of key departments like cooperation, steel and mines, sports and youth affairs and food supplies and consumer welfare and commissioner, commercial tax.

Ahuja’s role will not just be crucial in terms of successful implementation of BJP’s election promises but he will also play a key role in helping pick senior IAS officers in various department and district collectors in the Mohan Majhi government.

Sources said B Venkatraman held the post of Chief Secretary from February 29, 1980 to March 29, 1980. After him, S M Patnaik and L I Parija held the post. Similarly, Gyan Chand held the top administrative post from April 2, 1983 to December 31, 1985. Some people argue that D P Bagchi, who was chief secretary from November 1, 2000 to October 31, 2002, was also a non-Odia. However, observers clarify that Bagchi was born at Patnagarh in Balangir district and was brought up in the state.

All Chief Secretaries before Venkatraman were from outside Odisha. While B Sivaraman was the Chief Secretary from 12-06-56 to 10-09-59,V Ramanathan held the post from 10-09-59 to 05-07-61, B Sivaraman from 08-07-61 to 08-05-65 11, A K Barren from 09-05-65 to 02-05-70, G C L Joneja from 27-05-70 to 11-11-72, M Ramakrishnaya from 11-11-72 to 31-08-74, V S Mathews from 31-08-74 to 05-05-76, J A Dave from 07-05-76 to 18-02-77, A K Majumdar from 18-02-77 to 28-02-77, J A Dave from 01-03-77 to 21-09-77, K Ramamurty from 29-09-77 to13-02-79, and S M H Burney from 14-02-79 to 29-02-80

Before P K Jena assumed office, Suresh Mohapatra, Asit Tripathy, Aditya Padhi and Gokul Chandra Pati had been the state’s Chief Secretary. Other prominent IAS officers belonging to Odisha who held the top post earlier included P K Mohanty, Subas Pani, Ajit Kumar Tripathy, Tarun Kanti Mishra, Bijay Kumar Patnaik, and Jugal Kishore Mohapatra

Meanwhile, P K Jena, for him Sunday is the last day in office, said that he tried his level best to solve the problems but some expectations were beyond his power. “Sometimes people think that a chief secretary can do everything, which it not true,” he noted in a post on X handle.