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Kolkata: Ahead of the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) proposed by the Election Commission of India (ECI), the West Bengal government on Monday announced a major bureaucratic reshuffle in the state by transferring 17 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers in one go.
Among the 17 bureaucrats whose transfers have been announced, 10 District Magistrates are also included. The districts that will have new DMs, who will also function as District Election Officers, are North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Cooch Behar, Murshidabad, Purulia, Darjeeling, Malda, Birbhum, Jhargram and East Midnapore.
The Commissioner of Kolkata Municipal Corporation has also been changed. A senior bureaucrat in the state government said the simultaneous transfer of 17 IAS officers, especially 10 DMs, was unheard of, at least in recent times.
Incidentally, the massive bureaucratic reshuffle was announced by the state Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department in the afternoon, hours before the Chief Election Commissioner’s press conference in New Delhi, where the SIR dates for four poll-bound states and one poll-bound Union Territory, including West Bengal, are expected to be announced in 2026.
Bureaucratic circles believe that once the SIR dates are announced, there may be some technical difficulties in the transfer of bureaucrats, especially DMs, as DMs also function as District Election Officers.
The ECI has already clarified that once the vetting process begins, the state government will not be able to transfer election officials.
However, the state government is officially calling the transfer routine.
The new DMs are expected to run administrative functions in the respective districts during next year’s West Bengal Assembly elections, unless the Election Commission decides to transfer some of them before the elections.
As per the rules, once the election dates are announced, the state administration comes under the authority of the ECI, which can decide to transfer any state government officer or employee until the Model Code of Conduct is implemented.
–IANS