Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Sunday appointed over two dozen Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders as chairpersons, advisors, and vice-chairman of different boards and state-owned corporations. Former Bhubaneswar MP Prasanna Patsani, who was denied a party ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 has been appointed as a member of the State Planning Board. He has been accorded the rank of a Cabinet minister.
Similarly, former Berhampur MLA Ramesh Chandra Chayupatnaik, who was also denied a party ticket to contest the Assembly elections in 2019 has been appointed as a member of the State Planning Board with a Cabinet minister rank. Sadhu Nepak, a former MLA, was also appointed as a member of the State Planning Board with the rank of a Minister of State.
Kasturi Mohapatra was appointed as Editor, Utkal Prasanga and Odisha Review while Minati Behera appointed as the new chairperson of Odisha State Commission for Women. Dr Pradip Majhi was appointed as Advisor of Special Development Council and Pabitra Panigrahi appointed chairperson of Ganjam Regional Improvement Trust. Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo is will be the new chairperson of Odisha State Housing Board and Pravat Aditya Mishra the new chairperson of Agricultural Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Ltd (APICOL).
D Biswanath has been appointed as the chairperson of Odisha Rural Housing Development Corporation while former editor of Utkal Prasanga Lenin Mohanty will be the new chairperson of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC). Amresh Patri will be the new chairperson of Odisha Lift Irrigation Corporation and Subash Moharana the chairperson of Odisha State Cashew Development Corporation Limited.
Bijaya Nayak has been named as the chairperson of Odisha State Seeds Corporation while Debasis Mohanty will be the new chairperson of Odisha Agro Industries Corporation. Satyabrat Tripathy has been made the chairperson of Odisha Film Development Corporation (OFDC) while former OTDC chairperson Srimayee Mishra will become the new chairperson of Odisha Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board (OB&OCWW).
Student leader Chinmaya Sahoo will be the new chairperson of Odisha Small Industries Corporation Ltd (OSIC) while Sangram Paikaray will be the chairperson of Odisha Khadi and Village Industries Board. Surendra Pradhan was appointed as the advisor of Odisha State Agriculture Marketing Board while Kuna Bihari Das will become the new chairperson of Odisha State Youth Welfare Board. Santosh Bej has been appointed as the vice-chairman of Odisha Agro Industries Corporation.
The other leaders appointed as advisors to different departments and schemes were: Rama Chandra Panda (Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Department), Anubhav Patnaik, (E & IT Department), Sudhir Das (Biju Swasthya Kalyana Yojana (BSKY), Nibedita Nayak - Advisor, Biju Swasthya Kalyana Yojana (BSKY), Lopamudra Buxipatra (Mission Shakti), Gita Bastia (Advisor, Mission Shakti), Sarojini Hembram (ST&SC Development) and Sumitra Jena (W&CD Department). (PTI)
