West Bengal Govt Announces Major Bureaucratic Reshuffle Ahead of Lok Sabha Elections
Kolkata, Feb 20 (IANS) – The West Bengal government has announced a major bureaucratic reshuffle of officials ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The move comes as the state gears up for the crucial electoral process.
The reshuffle involves the transfer of several key officials. Principal Secretary of Municipal Affairs & Urban Development Khalil Ahmed has been transferred to the Western-Region Development Department. Additionally, Secretary of the Backward Class Development Department Sanjay Bansal has been given additional charges in the Municipal Affairs & Urban Development. Bansal will also be taking on the responsibilities of the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) as its Managing Director.
Moreover, Nilam Mina has been appointed as the Principal Secretary to the Consumer Affairs Department. Roshni Sen, an Additional Chief Secretary level officer, has been appointed as the Chairman & Managing Director of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), in addition to her existing charge as the Additional Chief Secretary of the Environment and Fisheries Department. IAS officer Avinab Chanda has been appointed as Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies & Wasteland.
According to a senior official of the Personnel & Administrative Reforms Department, the transferred senior bureaucrats had been in their respective posts for three years or more. The official also added, “They would have been transferred by the Election Commission of India (ECI) anyway before the elections. So, before the ECI orders, the state government itself initiated the transfers.”
A full bench of the ECI is scheduled to visit West Bengal next week to review the process of poll-preparedness. The state government aims to complete the necessary transfers before the visit of the ECI officials to ensure a smooth electoral process.
–IANS
src/dan
