Cuttack, April 1: The state government's decision to shift offices of the special relief commissioner and the state port engineer from here to Bhubaneswar has taken a new turn with Orissa High Court issuing a status quo order on the move.

The government had planned to shift the two offices to the state capital today.

The Special Relief Organisation was created under the board of revenue in Cuttack in 1965-66 for relief and rescue operations during and after natural calamities. The special relief commissioner heads the organisation and exercises all administrative and financial powers.

The state port engineer works under the relief commissioner and looks after maintenance and deployment of power boats stationed in all the districts for relief and rescue operations.

The government's decision sparked off protests when the Cuttack Banchao Committee, Cuttack Mahanagar Shanti Committee and the residents protested against the move outside the district collector's office on March 22.

A memorandum was also submitted demanding revocation of the decision. Cuttack Banchao Committee convener Barada Prasanna Patnaik filed a PIL seeking judicial intervention against relocation of the offices.

Alleging that the decision was "illegal, arbitrary and unreasonable", the petition sought an interim order stating that the state authorities "are taking step to shift the office of special relief commissioner and state port engineer on April 1".

Petitioner's counsel Ashok Kumar Mohapatra to The Telegraph: "Taking note of it, the division bench of Chief Justice Vineet Saran and Justice B.R. Sarangi, in an interim order on Thursday, directed the state government to maintain status quo and posted the matter to after three weeks for hearing along with the government's reply and the petitioner's rejoinder to it."