Odisha News Today

Bhubaneswar, Aug 12: It was the summer vacation of 2002, and Rajesh Khanna’s Haathi Mere Saathi left a lasting impression on a 5-year-old who watched it on TV while devouring ever-sweet Sundari mangoes. I thought elephants were ‘lovely’ creatures.Cut to 2017, when a few bike-borne, then-hedonistic college friends and I were en route to Maa Charchika temple in Banki. That trip shattered my notion that elephants are friendly and made me realise the difference between wild and circus elephants when a female leader of the herd charged at us for barely five seconds. Thanks to the 100-metre distance, we escaped, but those five to 10 seconds felt like endgame for all of us.Years later, that brief encounter remains a personal reminder of the complex relationship between humans and elephants. For thousands of people living around elephant habitats across Odisha, however, such encounters are not anecdotes to recount later -- they can be a matter of life and death.And the numbers tell that story starkly. Between 2020 and 2026, 906 people lost their lives in human-elephant conflict, while 513 elephants also died. The figures underline the difficult balance Odisha faces: protecting an endangered species while safeguarding communities that share its landscape.A Key State For Asian Elephant ConservationOdisha is recognised as one of India’s key states for the conservation of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), which has been classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).More than 60% of the world’s wild Asian elephants live in India, placing a significant conservation responsibility on the country. In Odisha, elephants have been recorded in 25 of the state’s 30 districts, making the species an important priority in the state’s biodiversity conservation efforts.The state’s 2024 simultaneous elephant census estimated 2,098 elephants during summer and 2,103 during winter, indicating that the population has remained stable.However, scientific studies have estimated the ecological carrying capacity of Odisha’s forests at around 1,700 to 1,800 elephants. This has shaped the state’s management approach, which seeks to maintain elephant numbers within ecological balance while simultaneously reducing human-elephant conflict.Three Reserves, 11 Major CorridorsAs part of its habitat protection strategy, Odisha has notified three elephant reserves -- Mayurbhanj, Mahanadi and Sambalpur.The state is also protecting 11 major elephant corridors, recognising the importance of keeping movement routes available for elephants while reducing the chances of encounters with human settlements.These measures form part of a broader effort to secure elephant habitats and create conditions for long-term coexistence.Electrocution: A Major Preventable ThreatWhile conflict can arise from encounters between elephants and people, human activity can also directly threaten elephant survival.Electrocution has been identified as the most preventable major cause of elephant deaths in the state. Consequently, the government is accelerating the modernisation of electricity infrastructure as part of its efforts to prevent such fatalities.For human casualties resulting from conflict, the government has increased compensation to Rs 10 lakh, providing enhanced financial assistance to affected families.Comprehensive Action Plan For CoexistenceFollowing directions from the Orissa High Court, the Odisha Government has prepared a Comprehensive Action Plan (CAP) for elephant conservation and management.Under the plan, elephant habitats have been divided into four management zones. The framework brings together science-based, technology-enabled and community-centric interventions, with the stated objectives of strengthening human-elephant coexistence, reducing conflict and ensuring long-term ecological sustainability.The approach represents an attempt to address elephant conservation not merely through protection of animals, but through coordinated management of habitats, movement, human interaction and response mechanisms.From HAWK To AI TowersTechnology is now an important part of Odisha’s elephant management strategy.The HAWK portal is being used for wildlife crime monitoring, PRAHAR for field-level monitoring, iWLMS for integrated wildlife management and ANUKAMPA 2.0 for compensation disbursement.The state is also deploying AI towers, early-warning systems, thermal drones, radio collars and mobile alert systems to monitor elephant movement continuously.The objective is to identify elephant movement in advance, alert people living in vulnerable areas and enable authorities to respond before encounters escalate into conflict.Community Participation At The Ground LevelTechnology, however, is being supplemented by a significant community-based response.The state has engaged 2,142 'Gajasathi' volunteers, along with Bidyut Prahari teams, rapid response teams and extensive awareness programmes.These initiatives are intended to strengthen ground-level monitoring and response while improving awareness among communities living close to elephant habitats.Also Read: Viral Stunt Goes Wrong as Kendujhar Youth Grabs Wild Elephant's Tusk for ReelStrengthening Food, Water And Rescue SupportHabitat management is another component of the conservation strategy.The state has undertaken bamboo and fruit-tree plantations and the construction of artificial water bodies, alongside measures for wildlife health management and strengthened rescue mechanisms.The interventions are aimed at strengthening the broader habitat and management ecosystem around elephants while improving the state’s ability to respond when animals are injured, distressed or trapped.Recognition For Those On The Conservation FrontlineThe conservation effort has also brought national recognition for personnel working on the ground.For their contribution to elephant conservation, the Central Government’s selection committee has selected late Jugal Naik, a squad member of the Intensive Protection of Critical Endangered Area (IPCEA) scheme in the Jarapada Range of Anugola Forest Division, and Prabhudatta Behera from the Saintala area of Balangir Forest Division for the Gaj Gaurav Award–2026.Both are scheduled to receive the award at a programme in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on August 12, 2026, on the occasion of World Elephant Day.Beyond Numbers, The Challenge Is CoexistenceFrom protected reserves and elephant corridors to electricity infrastructure, technology-driven monitoring, community volunteers and habitat interventions, Odisha has put in place a wide-ranging framework for elephant conservation. The challenge, however, is to make these interventions work together on the ground.

Bhubaneswar: The race for Odisha’s next Director General of Police has suddenly moved from an administrative selection exercise to a legal battle, with the Supreme Court stepping in after senior advocate P Chidambaram alleged that the Odisha government was attempting to alter the pool of eligible candidates after the Union Public Service Commission’s August 7 meeting failed to produce a shortlist. Mentioning a PIL before a CJI Surya Kant-led bench on Tuesday, Chidambaram alleged that the State had withdrawn the list sent to the UPSC and was attempting to promote an ADGP and bring the officer into the selection pool. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the matter and made it clear that the UPSC is duty-bound to approach the court in case of non-compliance with its directions. The development is significant because the Supreme Court had reiterated in February 2026 that the prescribed procedure for DGP appointments cannot be bypassed merely because the number of eligible officers is limited. Under the framework, the UPSC prepares the panel and the State appoints the DGP from among those empanelled. Why Did The August 7 UPSC Meeting Remain Inconclusive? The August 7 meeting was expected to be the decisive moment in Odisha’s DGP succession, with the UPSC empanelment committee scheduled to prune the State’s larger pool of officers to three names. But the selection ran into an unusual problem. The State’s original pool contained three DG-rank officers at the top – Sudhanshu Sarangi, Susanta Nath and R.P. Koche – along with a larger group of ADG-rank officers. The subsequent CBI vetting process, however, became a crucial factor in determining who could effectively remain in contention. According to top official sources, the CBI’s adverse report concerning Susanta Nath altered the equation. Once Nath was effectively knocked out of the clean DG-rank pool, Odisha was left with only two DG-rank officers who could form the core of the final selection. That created the central problem: how could the UPSC select three names when the State effectively had only two uncontroversial DG-rank candidates? The August 7 meeting therefore remained inconclusive, with the selection process entering a procedural grey zone. The Supreme Court has since made clear that the prescribed eligibility framework cannot simply be diluted because the pool is small. The Integrity Certificate Withdrawal: What Chidambaram Said – And What Happened Behind It? This is perhaps the most intriguing part of the episode. Before the Supreme Court, P Chidambaram alleged that the State had withdrawn the list after the UPSC meeting. His submission was blunt: “Odisha withdrew the list. They are now making another list to send.” He further alleged that the State was trying to promote an ADGP and “smuggle him into the list and get him considered.” But the administrative sequence points to a more complicated explanation. The issue was not simply that Odisha withdrew its list and decided to create a new one. The CBI’s adverse feedback had already changed the composition of the pool before the UPSC could complete its exercise. In effect, the CBI report shrank the three-DG equation to two viable DG-rank officers. The UPSC, acting on the vetting material before it, was therefore confronted with a candidate pool that did not neatly fit the requirement of producing three names. That is what makes the withdrawal of the State’s list significant. It came after the integrity/vetting issue had altered the original arithmetic of the selection. The State’s subsequent move to elevate two ADGPs to DG rank on August 10 has therefore become the central point of legal scrutiny. CBI Report Threw A Spanner Into Odisha’s DGP Selection The roots of the present crisis go back to the Odisha SI recruitment examination paper-leak case. Here is the timeline given. September 2025: The Odisha Sub-Inspector (SI) recruitment examination is abruptly cancelled just days before its scheduled date following a massive paper-leak detection. November 12, 2025: The CBI officially takes over the criminal investigation from the State Crime Branch. December 30, 2025 – January 2, 2026: Within its mandatory 90-day window, the CBI files its primary, extensive chargesheet before the Special CJM Court in Bhubaneswar. The document exposes systemic vulnerabilities in the printing press, name-dropping technical leaks, but places severe scrutiny on the oversight of the Odisha Police Recruitment Board (OPRB). The Adverse Report April – May 2026: Anticipating the August retirement of the incumbent DGP Y.B. Khurania, the Odisha state government transmits its pool of potential candidates to the UPSC. The pool includes 1993-batch DG Susanta Kumar Nath, who sat above the 1994-batch contenders in structural seniority. June – July 2026: During the mandatory vetting and documentation clearance process, the CBI officially transmits its adverse feedback report to the UPSC. The report details Nath's supervisory lapses as the structural head of the OPRB when the leak occurred. This adverse reporting technically invalidates his promotion prospects for the top post, reshaping the selection pool from the top down. That changed the equation at the top. Before the CBI report, the three senior DG-rank names – Sarangi, Nath and Koche – offered the UPSC a straightforward three-name pool. Once Nath became problematic from the integrity/vetting standpoint, the equation effectively became Sarangi + Koche = only two viable DG-rank choices. That, in turn, collided with the UPSC's requirement to produce a three-member panel. And that is where the DGP selection stopped being a routine seniority exercise. August 10: Why Did Odisha Elevate Two ADGPs To DG Rank? On August 10, barely three days after the inconclusive UPSC meeting, Odisha promoted two 1994-batch IPS officers – Y.K. Jethwa and Sanjeeb Panda – to the DG rank. The timing immediately attracted attention. Chidambaram specifically referred to the move before the Supreme Court, alleging that the State was attempting to promote an ADGP and then include him in the DGP selection pool. The State's administrative rationale, however, can be viewed through a different lens. Once the CBI report had effectively removed Nath from the equation, Odisha had only two DG-rank officers available for a three-name UPSC panel. Elevating ADGPs to DG rank therefore created additional officers who could potentially fill the vacancy in the eligible pool. In other words, the August 10 promotions came after the August 7 UPSC deadlock and appear directly connected to the problem created by the reduced DG-rank pool. But this is precisely where the legal question arises: can a State alter the rank composition of its officers after the UPSC selection exercise has already begun, and can such a newly promoted officer be brought into the DGP selection process? The Supreme Court's intervention has made that question central to the appointment. What Changed After The Supreme Court Case? What Will UPSC Do? The biggest change is that the DGP selection is no longer merely about seniority within Odisha. Central empanelment could now become an important factor. Among the DG-rank officers, Sudhanshu Sarangi and R.P. Koche have been empanelled by the Ministry of Home Affairs for DG-level posts at the Centre. Susanta Nath, despite being promoted to DG rank and serving as DG (Prisons), was not similarly empanelled by the MHA for a DG-level central post. There is another important piece in the puzzle: Y.K. Jethwa, one of the two officers promoted to DG rank on August 10, had already been empanelled by the MHA for DG-level posts at the Centre. That could prove significant. If the UPSC, following the Supreme Court's intervention, takes the position that only officers holding the DG rank should be considered for the State DGP panel, the Central empanelment of Jethwa could provide the bridge between the original seniority-based pool and the newly created DG-rank pool. The possible arithmetic could therefore become: Sudhanshu Sarangi + R.P. Koche + Y.K. Jethwa The crucial point is that Jethwa's central DG empanelment predates his August 10 elevation in Odisha. Therefore, the State could argue that his promotion was not an artificial creation of eligibility, but a formalisation at the State level of an officer who had already been found suitable for DG-level responsibilities by the Centre. Whether the UPSC accepts that logic – and whether the Supreme Court permits such a post-August 7 change to influence the selection – is now the big question. Bottomline: The Centre's DG List May Hold The Key The Supreme Court's intervention has brought the Odisha DGP selection under a much sharper institutional lens. The CJI-led bench has reiterated that the prescribed Prakash Singh framework cannot be bypassed merely because the State has a limited pool of eligible officers. And this is where Odisha's Central empanelment picture becomes important. If the State effectively has only two DG-rank officers who remain in the clear after the CBI vetting episode, the MHA's prior empanelment of Y.K. Jethwa for DG-level posts could become a decisive piece of the UPSC's three-name puzzle. The immediate question, therefore, is no longer merely who will become Odisha DGP? It is who will UPSC consider eligible to be among the three – and can an officer promoted to DG rank after the first UPSC meeting enter that equation? The answer could determine whether the Odisha DGP race remains a contest between seniority and service record or becomes a test case on how strictly the Prakash Singh framework must be followed when the State's eligible DG pool itself changes mid-process. Also Read: Odisha DGP Race Gets Twist: How Sanjeeb Panda’s DG Elevation Changed the Top 3 Equation| Exclusive