Report by Badal Tah, Rayagada : Ms Parul Patwari, a 2015 batch IAS officer, has taken charge on last Monday as Collector succeeding Manoj Satyawan Mahajan, who left the district to join as Collector Sundargarh. Parul has experience working as Sub-Collector, Champua sub-division in Keonjhar district, Deputy Secretary in the Works Deptt in Govt of Odisha, Special ADM in Ganjam, Municipal Corporation in Bhubaneswar(BMC), Jagatsinghpur Collector, Vice-Chairman, Paradip Development Authority, Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) with additional charge of Member Secretary, Mo School, etc. Originally hailing from Rajasthan, which is a part of BIMAROU(Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha & Uttar Pradesh) states & having taken up multiple responsibilities, she understands the intricacies of the development process in a state like Odisha.
As Special ADM in Ganjam district, she was able to flatten the COVID curve in the district. Ex-CM Naveen Patnaik congratulated her for successfully checking the spread of COVID-19 in Ganjam district. She worked with doctors 24X7, who were always in touch with COVID-19 infected patients. They were visiting them, they were making calls to some and they were enquiring about their health conditions through Zoom video conferencing app. Providing counselling by a recovered COVID-19 patient to an under treatment patient works well. She conceptualised the idea of recovered COVID BANDHUs as counsellors of the patients on a regular basis. She also introduced COVID monitors to assist the doctors and Covid Bandhus. She also introduced mobile health facility in both the rural and urban areas to have health facilities at their doorstep. People not only got their health tested by doctors but also had medicine on the spot. Parul contributed significantly in helping Ganjam Dist recover from its peak caseload of COVID19. As she successfully managed spread of COVID-19 in Ganjam district, she was brought to Khurda district and was placed in BMC to contain Corona, which was spreading very fast. She also excelled there.
As Dy Secretary to Govt in Works Department Parul hinted upon the public health issues by highlighting the magnitude of the ‘out of pocket expenses’ of economically marginalized sections and stressed on govt’s commitment to propagate and perpetuate the SHE(Safety, Health and Environment) interventions.
As Jagatsinghpur Collector, she was able to conduct the public hearing smoothly in spite of resistance at Dhinkia for the establishment of a mega steel plant by Zindal Steel Works(JSW). When the leader of All Odisha Bhoi Samaja Bikash Parishad Sankar Das staged a demonstration at Collectorate and wanted to submit a memorandum to CM through the Collector & allegedly detained her, she was able to pacify the resistance as per the rule of law.
The National Commission of Scheduled Tribes (NCST), New Delhi issued summons to Collector Parul Patwari to appear before it. She complied its order on non-issuance of “Matya” caste certificate to a tribal villager of Odisso village under Jagatsinghpur tehsil. Similarly in a letter to Parul, the then Collector and District Magistrate, Jagatsingpur, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights(NCPCR), New Delhi stated that around 11 Hindu minor children were being illegally converted in an event that was organized by a Canadian national named Eapan Mohan Kidangalil along with two other missionaries from Tirtol. She thoroughly enquired about the matter and complied with NCPCR’s summon.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered immediate transfer of her ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state amid allegations by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of unholy nexus between her and the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) & Parul got an abrupt departure from Jagatsinghpur district amidst elections 2024; but in OSEPA and Mo School, she could gain the confidence of present Mohan govt and has been posted now as Collector Rayagada. Experience counts. Denizens of Rayagada are optimistic that she will take up several development challenges ahead of her.
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