Like all the other states of India, the administration of the state of Odisha 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 Odisha 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 Odisha 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 Odisha.
The government of Odisha is marked by the ideals of democracy, secularism, liberty and sovereignty.
Legislature of Orissa
The legislature of Odisha is the democratic and the autonomous body of the state. Along with the executive and the judiciary body, the legislature of Odisha 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 Odisha 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 Odisha 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 Odisha. 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 are raised in the legislative assembly and debated upon before they are accepted by the government.
Orissa Executive
The executive of Odisha 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 is the constitutional head of the state. The departmental secretaries are also among the important Odisha government executives.
The governor has the power to prorogue and dissolve the legislative assembly besides many other constitutional powers. The present Governor of Odisha is SC Jamir.
The chief minister of Odisha heads the council of Odisha ministers. Naveen Patnaik is the present Odisha chief minister. He is an able successor of his father and former chief minister Biju Patnaik.
Judiciary of Orissa
The Odisha High Court is the highest seat for the Judiciary of the state. The High Court of Odisha started functioning from 26 July 1948. It has 14 district courts under its jurisdictions. The Odisha 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 Odisha Judiciary system has five classes of officers:
- Odisha 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 Odisha 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 Odisha has a contribution in the administrative system of the state. The various government departments of Odisha are given below:
- Agriculture
- Co-operation
- Commerce and Transport
- Excise
- Energy bour 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 : October 6, 2014