Cuttack: A distinguished mandarin, Shri Satya Brata Sahu has formally assumed the position of Member, Board of Revenue, Odisha, as of 2 January 2026, following his appointment on the first day of the year. This transition from his role as Additional Chief Secretary of the Home, Forest, Environment and Climate Change departments places him at the apex of the State’s Revenue Jurisdiction.
This new assignment is a critical deployment of a 1991-batch officer whose career has been a continuous synthesis of development sector, regulatory enforcement and systemic land management, positioning him to lead the state’s highest Quasi-Judicial Body for Revenue Administration with a mandate of institutional reform.
The professional trajectory of this IAS mandarin reveals a career defined by deep structural involvement in the state’s development, fiscal and land apparatus. His elevation to the Board of Revenue as its Boss, represents a systemic culmination of decades of field-level engagement with the legal frameworks governing land and disaster management.
The professional trajectory of this versatile IAS mandarin reveals a career defined by deep structural involvement in the state’s fiscal and land apparatus.
Shri Sahu’s expertise is rooted in a layered causality of roles starting from the grassroots, where his foundational experience as Sub-Collector in Khurda and subsequent postings as District Magistrate and Collector in Nuapada, Kalahandi, and Jagatsinghpur provided direct oversight of land tenure systems and district-level adjudication. These roles necessitated a rigorous application of the Odisha Estate Abolition Act and the Odisha Land Reforms Act, forming the bedrock of his socio-legal precision.
The transition from field administration to central policy-making further densified his profile. Between 2013 and 2020, his central deputation included a significant tenure as Additional Secretary in the Department of Land Resources under the Ministry of Rural Development.
This period allowed for a synthesis of state-specific challenges with national imperatives, particularly regarding land records modernization and the legalities of land acquisition. This evidence-based narrative of governance continued upon his return to the state, where his leadership in the Revenue and Disaster Management Department underscored his status as a critical architect of state policy.
His concurrent handling of the Special Relief Commissioner portfolio and the leadership of the Odisha State Disaster Mitigation Authority integrated the mandates of revenue collection with the moral urgency of climate resilience.
His long tenure in Department of Home, Forest, Environment and Climate Change has proved as most effective mandarin in clearing mega projects and solving critical issues.
As Member, Board of Revenue, Shri Sahu brings a rare combination of an M.Tech in Applied Geology and extensive administrative jurisprudence. This background is vital for resolving the systemic bottlenecks inherent in land title disputes and the administration of endowment lands, including those under the jurisdiction of Lord Jagannatha.
His career reflects a commitment to a socio-legal order where technical literacy in earth sciences meets the complex requirements of Odisha’s revenue systems.