Bhubaneswar: In a bureaucrat reshuffle, the Odisha government on Tuesday appointed IAS officer Bhaskar Jyoti Sarma as Principal Secretary of the Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department.

Sarma, a 1999-batch IAS, will continue to hold the additional charge of CMD, OPTCL.

R. Santhanagopalan, a 2001-batch IAS officer and the Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha, as well as Ex-officio Principal Secretary, Home (Elections) Department, has been allowed to retain additional charge of Principal Secretary, Excise Department, and Chairman of the Odisha State Beverages Corporation Limited.

According to a notification issued by the General Administration and Public Grievance Department, Sarma’s additional charge as Chairman of the Odisha State Beverages Corporation Limited will cease once Santhanagopalan assumes office.

Meanwhile, 2007-batch IAS officer Balwant Singh, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Tourism Department, will continue to hold additional charge as Chairperson of the Odisha State Highway Authority (OSHA). He had earlier been serving as its Managing Director.