Bhubaneswar, July 29: Senior bureaucrat Aparajita Sarangi, who has always been in the news for various “controversies” and “pro-active decisions”, has been appointed today as the head of the Odisha panchayati raj department.

Sarangi was one of the 11 IAS officers who were transferred as part of a major secretary-level rejig in Odisha government.

On Friday, the government had also transferred collectors of 15 Odisha districts.

P.K. Jena, who was heading the panchayati raj department, has been posted today as the energy secretary and ex-officio chairman-cum-managing director of the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation, the Odisha Power Generation Corporation, and the Odisha Hydro Power Corporation. He was also given the additional charge of the information and public relations department.

Energy secretary G. Mathivathanam has been transferred to the commerce and transport department, replacing Gagan Kumar Dhal, who will head the higher education department.

School and mass education secretary Rajesh Verma has been posted as the head of the steel and mines department, replacing Deo Ranjan Kumar Singh. Singh has been appointed as chairman-cum-managing director of Gridco and the Odisha Power Transmission Corporation.

Gridco chairman-cum-managing director Hemant Sharma has been appointed as the director of state employment mission and the technical education and training department.