Odisha govt rejects IAS officer Sujata R Karthikeyan's leave extension application

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has rejected an application of senior IAS officer Sujata R Karthikeyan for extension of child care leave (CCL) and asked her to join the duty, an official said on Wednesday.

Karthikeyan is the wife of V K Pandian who was a close aide of former chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

The General Administration and Public Grievance department through a letter on Tuesday informed Karthikeyan to join duty on Wednesday as her application for an extension of child care leave has not been accepted by the government, the official said.

"I am directed to invite a reference to your letter of dated 04.11.2024 (sanction of extension of CCL for six months from November 27) and say that after careful consideration, your leave application for extension of CCL is not acceded to. You are, therefore, requested to join on 27.11.2024 i.e. after availing of the CCL from 31.05.2024 to 26.11.2024," said letter issued by Manoj Mohanty, additional secretary, General Administration and Public Grievance department.

Karthikeyan, Special Secretary, Finance department, had applied for six months leave soon after the 2024 general elections. She has been on leave for a period of six months since May 31. Her leave duration ended on Tuesday.

The General Administration and Public Grievance Department had on June 7 this year, granted six-month childcare leave to Karthikeyan to take care of her minor daughter appearing in her class 10 examination.