Cabinet of India
On 27 May 1947, Harekrushna Mahatab took oath to form a Congress ministry. In 1946, it was decided that Bhubaneswar would replace Cuttack as the political capital of the state of Odisha. A year after India gained its independence from Britain, the task of designing had been granted to the German architect Otto Königsberger. Also in 1948, construction on the Hirakud Dam began. By 1949, the 24 princely states had been integrated and Odisha had 13 districts: Cuttack, Puri, Balasore, Ganjam, Koraput, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, Sundergarh, Keonjhar, Balangirpatna, Boudh-Kandhamal, Mayurbhanj and Kalahandi. On 12 May 1950, Mahatab resigned to join the Cabinet of India. Nabakrushna Choudhuri took over as the Chief Minister the same day.