Bhubaneswar: Siddhant Das has sought to step down as Chairman of Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority (ORERA) so that he can assume the office of the Chairman of Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Das is believed to have given 3-month notice to Odisha government to relinquish the post of ORERA Chairman as per Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act 2016. He was appointed to the post in July 2020.
According to official sources, Das, in a letter to principal secretary, Housing and Urban Development, has stated that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had reconstituted the CEC and appointed him as its Chairman as approved by the Supreme Court in December 2023.
Das had informed about the appointment to the state government at the time. The Supreme Court, in its order on March 3, 2024 had observed that CEC should have a full-time Chairman and requested the Central government to look into the matter.
In view of the Supreme Court’s direction, Das said he was giving 3 months’ notice for disengagement as Chairperson of the ORERA so that he can work full-time as Chairperson of the CEC and relocate to Delhi.
Das has achieved a unique record of having held the two coveted posts of Director General of Forests, Government of India, and Chairman of CEC.
A retired IFS officer, Das has served as secretary of Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) for four years. He has also worked as the project director of a Food Security programme for selected tribal populace taken up under the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations.