Bengal Assembly Elections 2021: No political appointee on civic chair, says EC

The poll panel has asked state chief secretary and urban development secretary to select government officials in their place

The board of administrators were appointed to run civic bodies after elections could not be held owing to the pandemic last year after the five-year tenure of the elected boards expired.

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TT Bureau   |   Calcutta   |   21.03.21: The Election Commission of India issued an order on Saturday to remove political appointees as chairpersons of boards of administrators in five municipal corporations — most of whom are Trinamul leaders — including Calcutta and Bidhannagar.

The board of administrators were appointed to run civic bodies after elections could not be held owing to the pandemic last year after the five-year tenure of the elected boards expired.

In its order, the poll panel has asked state chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and urban development secretary Khalil Ahmad to appoint government officials in place of the political personalities.

The commission, by exercising its plenary powers under Article 324 of the Constitution, also entrusted the chief secretary with ensuring a “level playing field” in all other civic bodies — over 110 — where elections could not be held, and political leaders appointed as the chairpersons of board of administrators, with “rigorous reviews” of the decisions.

Other than Calcutta and Bidhannagar, the order applies to civic corporations in Asansol, Siliguri and Chandernagore. The chief secretary has been asked to send a compliance report to the EC by Monday.

The chairperson of the board of administrators for the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, Firhad Hakim, and his Siliguri counterpart Asok Bhattacharya are in fray this year. Hakim is Trinamul’s candidate from the Kolkata Port seat. CPM veteran Bhattacharya is contesting from Siliguri.

Sources said Opposition parties, mainly the BJP, had lodged complaints with the EC alleging that civic body offices were being used by Trinamul to influence voters and as its extended party offices.

“Work orders were being issued for various civic bodies on back dates even after MCC (model code of conduct) was put in place. We wanted all political leaders to be removed from the board of administrators as these are no more elected bodies,” Sabyasachi Dutta, the BJP candidate from Bidhannagar, alleged.

Countering the “no more elected bodies” argument, a Trinamul leader said former mayors or chairpersons had been tasked with running the civic bodies amid the pandemic. “Elections to civic bodies could not be held because of the pandemic. The government wanted to run civic services smoothly during the pandemic and that’s why former mayors were appointed.... Now, if the ECI removes them it has to ensure that civic services are not affected.”