By RABINARAYAN JENA, OP
Bhubaneswar: Despite the state government introducing a revamped Odisha Civil Services (Rehabilitation Assistance) Rules in August 2026 to ensure swift justice for bereaved families of government employees who died in harness, bureaucratic delays continue to stall implementation.
Under the revised framework, the previous 100-point evaluation system was scrapped to guarantee compassionate appointments for eligible families. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had earlier directed that all pending grievances be resolved within three months.
However, lax execution by several departments has led to a surge in OCS RA-related complaints on the Chief Minister’s Grievance Cell portal. Taking serious note of the backlog, Principal Secretary of General Administration Department Suresh Kumar Vashisth has issued fresh directives to all departmental secretaries to expedite the policy implementation.
Vashisth instructed all departments to immediately update OCS RA-related data on CMGI portal. Officials noted that pending rehabilitation applications have languished across multiple offices, compelling affected families to knock on the doors of CM’s Grievance Cell for redressal. Vashisth stated that the state government has developed a dedicated online portal to centrally collect data, monitor cases, and ensure swift resolution of these matters.
The portal requires all offices and institutions under every department to upload complete, accurate, and up-to-date information on all pending OCS RA applications, alongside timely status updates. Departments have been provided with unique user IDs and initial passwords to access the portal. For security reasons, officials were instructed not to share these confidential credentials with unauthorised personnel and to change their passwords upon first login.
Departments have also been directed to coordinate with the grievance cell to extend login access to subordinate offices. Data uploaded by subordinate offices will be available for review and approval on the respective department’s dashboard. Despite these provisions, departments have failed to upload their OCSRA data.
In view of this, Vashisth emphasised that every department must immediately appoint a senior officer as a nodal officer.
He further indicated that the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) will soon review the status of data updates on the portal. Notably, the state cabinet had approved amendments to the OCS RA rules during its meeting in the second week of August.
The revisions simplified the process by scrapping the previous 100-point evaluation system—which was based on the family’s financial and other conditions—and removing the Group-D recruitment restrictions.
Additionally, provisions were introduced allowing that if a deceased employee’s spouse is over 50 years of age, is unwilling to take up the job, or is declared unfit by a medical board, another eligible family member can be nominated. However, due to a lack of earnestness among departmental secretaries, the policy is currently not being implemented effectively.
