State administration transfers 12 district magistrates and 10 superintendents of police after three years

 Mamata Banerjee signed transfer files of DMs and SPs on Monday, a day before she left for Spain

TT Special Correspondent, Calcutta, 13.09.23 : The state administration on Tuesday transferred 12 district magistrates and 10 superintendents of police as they had completed three years in their respective districts.

Sources said as the district magistrates and police superintendents had completed their three-year tenure, they had to be transferred under the Election Commission of India’s norms.

The election commission held a preparatory meeting for the Lok Sabha elections in Calcutta on Monday.

“The changes were made way ahead of the elections because chief minister Mamata Banerjee wanted to give some time to new DMs and SPs to get to know their districts before the poll process starts. While a few DMs have been transferred to other districts, a few got postings in departments in Calcutta,” said a senior government official.

Sources also said Mamata signed the transfer files of the DMs and SPs on Monday, a day before she left for Spain.

According to the rejig, DMs of Kalimpong, Alipurduar, North Dinajpur, Cooch Behar, Bankura, Howrah, Hooghly, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, West and East Burdwan and Nadia were transferred. The SPs transferred are from Baruipur, Murshidabad, Cooch Behar, Jangipur, Krishnagar, Hooghly Rural, East Burdwan, East Midnapore, Ranaghat and South Dinajpur.

(KN Ed: Newly appointed and transferred district magistrates are T Balasubramanian - Kalimpong, Preeti Goel- Darjeeling, Shama Parveen - Jalpaiguri, R Vimala - Alipurduar, Arvind Kumar Meena - Coochbehar, Surendra Kumar Meena - North Dinajpur. 

Others transferred are S. Ponnabalam to West Burdwan, Arun Prasad to Nadia, Siyad N to Bankura, Purendra Kumar Majhi to East Bardhaman,  Deepap Priya to Howrah and Mukta Arya to Hooghly.  

Some officials said that as the DMs were transferred a day after the poll panel held a preparatory meeting with them, preparations for the polls could be hit.

However, a senior official said that as most DMs who had attended the election commission’s meeting were posted in new districts, the electoral process would not be affected. A few officers, who will be DMs for the first time, will work on the electoral process in coordination with chief electoral officer’s office in Calcutta.