On Friday, the West Bengal government transferred 64 senior officers among them 10 district magistrates, to new positions, just hours before the Election Commission of India (ECI) was set to address the media in Delhi.
The press conference was expected to announce the start date of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
While Nabanna, the state secretariat, has described the reshuffle as “routine,” insiders say otherwise. “It was expected that after the SIR announcement, the ECI would move those district magistrates who have held the post for more than three years. So, before the ECI could do that, the state administration transferred them to avoid controversy,” a senior official told the Indian Express.
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Among those transferred are some of the state’s most visible administrators
Notably, Sharad Kumar Dwivedi, DM of North 24 Parganas, has been moved to the Health and Family Welfare Department as secretary. His replacement will be Shashank Sethi, the outgoing MD of WBHIDCO. Sumit Gupta, DM of South 24 Parganas, will now serve as Municipal Commissioner of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, while Arvind Kumar Mina, DM of Cooch Behar, shifts to South 24 Parganas.
Other major changes include Rajarshi Mitra, DM of Murshidabad, taking over as MD, WBHIDCO, and Rajat Nanda, DM of Purulia, being appointed as Director of Tourism. Preeti Goyal, DM of Darjeeling, will now move to Malda, and Nitin Singhania will take charge as DM of Murshidabad. Bidhan Roy, DM of Birbhum, has been moved to the Food and Supplies Department as social secretary.
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However, senior BJP leader and former state president Rahul Sinha alleged, “This is not a routine transfer. These DMs held their positions for years. Now, since SIR will start, the state government is forced to change so many of them. This is to save themselves from embarrassment,” he said.
