Just before the announcement of SIR, the West Bengal government has made a large-scale administrative reshuffle in the state. Nabanna (State Secretariat) has issued an order transferring a total of 64 IAS officers including 10 District Magistrates (DM) and 5 WBCS officers. Apart from this, many ADMs and SDOs have also had to face this transfer action.
According to information received from sources, this decision has been taken because those officers have been posted on the same post for a long time, it is said that this step will help in maintaining administrative balance. But the time limit of this instruction gives it a different meaning.
Discussion started in political circles
Opposition parties in the state have given this step a political turn. There is discussion in political circles that before SIR, Mamata government has assigned important responsibilities to its ‘loyal’ officials. It is noteworthy that changes have also been made in border districts like 24 Parganas, Malda and Murshidabad. Where many right-wingers claimed that there are Bangladeshi votes here.
New District Magistrates in some major districts
In this transfer exercise, new District Magistrates have been appointed in some major districts. Sharad Kumar Dwivedi has been appointed Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Department in North 24 Parganas. In his place, IAS Shashank has been made the new District Magistrate.
Sumit Gupta has been made the Municipal Commissioner of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) in South 24 Parganas. Sheti has been made the new District Magistrate of North 24 Parganas in Malda.
Nitin Singhania has become the new District Magistrate in Murshidabad. In Birbhum, Dhaval Jain has been made the new District Magistrate of the district. This large-scale transfer is indicating the government’s intention to bring new momentum in administrative work, but the opposition is linking it to big projects like SIR.