Odisha govt approves IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi’s plea for voluntary retirement

Bhubaneswar: Senior IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi’s request for voluntary retirement has been accepted by the Odisha government, an official said today.

A 1994-batch Odisha cadre officer, Sarangi’s five-year tenure on central deputation ended in August. She was serving as Joint Secretary (MGNREGA), Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.

In a letter to the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Training, Rabindra Nath Sahu, Special Secretary, General Administration, said: “Sarangi is free from vigilance angle and no departmental proceedings are pending or contemplated against her……you are, therefore, requested to consider the representation of Sarangi and furnish necessary orders regarding acceptance of her voluntary retirement from government service to this department at the earliest.”

Now, the Union Government will formally accept her VRS plea.

The Bihar-born IAS officer, sources said, is likely to join politics soon.

The former commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) might contest the Lok Sabha elections from Bhubaneswar on a BJP ticket, the source maintained.

The IAS officer, however, neither confirmed nor denied about the talks of getting into electoral politics.

Sarangi was making headlines frequently and perceived to be very popular during her BMC stint from 2006 to 2009 for her strict principles and several measures to address civic woes in the city.

On September 15, the 49-year-old bureaucrat had applied for voluntary retirement from the premier service.

Married to her batchmate Santosh Sarangi, she had worked as Director, Panchayati Raj Department; Secretary, School and Mass Education Department; Secretary, Higher Education; Commissioner, consolidation; and Secretary, Textiles and Handloom.