Orissa Government

The Orissa Government follows the democratic system like the other states of the country and is led by the Chief Minister. The Governor of the state is the executive head who is supported in office by the chief minister. He is the democratic head aided by his cabinet of ministers. The government of Orissa has functioned in the democratic way since the creation of the state after the acceptance of the Constitution of India.

Like all the other states of India, the administration of the state of Orissa is headed by the honorable Governor. The state has a single legislative assembly with 147 seats. The elected members of the legislature are conducted in the house by the chosen speaker who serves his term till his successor is chosen. The chief minister works with the aid of the council of ministers. The party who wins with the majority of votes in the state forms the government in Orissa which continues for five years unless the government loses its vote of confidence prior to the completion of the term. The judicial system of the state of Orissa is conducted by the subsidiary courts headed by the High Court in Cuttack. Bhubaneswar is the capital city of the state and is the seat of administration. The state has been divided into smaller administrative units called the districts which are headed by the collector. While administration in the cities is supervised by the municipal governments, the panchayat form of administration works in the villages of Orissa.

The government of Orissa is marked by the ideals of democracy, secularism, liberty and sovereignty.

Legislature of Orissa

The legislature of Orissa is the democratic and the autonomous body of the state. Along with the executive and the judiciary body, the legislature of Orissa state is an important component of governance. The legislative powers of the state are vested on the majority party that occupies the maximum number of seats in the legislative assembly. The speaker of the legislative assembly of Orissa enjoys the autonomous status and has the administrative powers of controlling the legislative assembly.

60 seats were assigned to the legislative assembly of the state of Orissa when it was established under the Government of India Act of 1935. 4 seats among the total were left for the nominated members of the assembly. After several revisions of the number of seats, the total number of 147 was fixed as the strength of the Legislature of Orissa. The political parties of the state compete in the elections to occupy the maximum number of seats in the assembly. The non money and the money bills of the state of Orissa are raised in the legislative assembly and debated upon before they are accepted by the government.

Orissa Executive

The executive of Orissa is the administrative wing of the state and it includes the chief minister, the governor and the council of minister. The chief minister heads the state government and he is ably supported by the council of ministers. The governor of Orissa is the constitutional head of the state. The departmental secretaries are also among the important Orissa government executives.

The Governor of Orissa has the power to prorogue and dissolve the legislative assembly besides many other constitutional powers. The present Orissa governor is Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare. Born on 10th December, 1928 this octogenarian leader took oath as the governor on 21st August, 2007.

The chief minister of Orissa heads the council of Orissa ministers. Shri Navin Patnaik is the present Orissa chief minister. He is an able successor of his father and former chief minister Shri Biju Patnaik. He was elected as the chief minister in the 2002 assembly elections and then again in the year 2004.

Judiciary of Orissa

The Orissa High Court is the highest seat for the Judiciary of Orissa. The High Court of Orissa started functioning from 26th July, 1948. The first chief justice was Shri B. Jagannandha Das. The present chief justice of the Orissa High Court is Mr. A.K. Ganguly. The honorable chief justice was born on February 3rd in 1947. He studied law LLB from Calcutta University and practiced at the Calcutta High Court. He was appointed the chief justice of the Orissa High Court in 2007.

The Orissa High Court has 14 district courts under its jurisdictions. The Orissa State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission functions from the High Court complex only. The District Courts' judges and the Courts' subordinates are also termed as Subordinate Judicial Service. The Orissa Judiciary system has five classes of officers:

• Orissa Superior Judicial Service
• Superior Judicial Service
• Judicial Service Class I
  • Judicial Service Class I - Junior
  • Judicial Service Class II

Orissa Government Departments

There are quite a few Orissa government departments, which pertain to the various sectors of administration of the state. All these departments are engaged in specialized work related to the respective fields.

Each of the government departments at Orissa has a contribution in the administrative system of the state. The various government departments of Orissa are given below:

• Agriculture
• Co-operation
• Commerce and Transport
• Excise
• Energy
• Fisheries and ARD
• Finance
• Forest and Environment
• Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare
• Health and Family Welfare
• General Administration
• Home
• Higher Education
• Information & Public Relations
• Housing & Urban Development
• Information Technology
• Industries
• Panchayati Raj
• Labour and Employment
• Parliamentary Affairs
• Law
• Planning and Co-Ordination
• Public Grievances and Pension Administration
• Public Enterprises
• Rural Development
• Revenue and Disaster Management
• Works
• Development of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe
• Water Resources
• School and Mass Education
• Textiles and Handloom
• Science and Technology
• Steel and Mines
• Sports and Youth Services
• Tourism and Culture
• Women and Child Development

Last Updated on : 30^th March 2013