Pradeep Jena Gets 6-Month Extension As Odisha Chief Secretary

Bhubaneswar: Pradeep Kumar Jena has got an extension of six months as the Chief Secretary of Odisha, putting to rest speculations about his successor.

The General Administration and Public Grievance department, in a notification on Friday, said the service period of Chief Secretary PK Jena has been extended for a period of six months from January 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. Jena was scheduled to retire from service on December 31.

A 1989-batch IAS officer of Odisha cadre, Jena had taken charge as Chief Secretary on March 1, 2023. He had succeeded Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, whose tenure had come to an end with retirement after two successive extensions of six months each.

Jena had earlier served as Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary and Secretary, Planning and Convergence with additional charge of Agriculture Production Commissioner, Special Relief Commissioner and MD, Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA).

Earlier, he had held the post of the chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, and also served as Secretary in Rural Development, Water Resources, IT and Energy departments.

Last year, the possibility of Jena being picked for the top bureaucratic post was doing the rounds. But the state government decided to give Suresh Chandra Mahapatra another extension following the green signal for continuing in the service from the Centre.