Kolkata: In a major reshuffle in the state administration, the West Bengal government on Monday transferred 70 IAS officers, including 14 district magistrates (DMs), along with 457 officers of the West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) cadre to new postings.
Significantly, the reshuffle order came just hours before the State Election Commission announced the SIR of electoral rolls in Bengal. Among the major changes, Sharad Kumar Dwivedi, DM North 24-Parganas, has been appointed Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department. Sumit Gupta, DM South 24-Parganas, becomes Municipal Commissioner of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), while Dhawal Jain, who was serving as KMC Commissioner, takes charge as DM, Birbhum.
Arvind Kumar Mina, DM Cooch Behar, has been transferred to South 24-Parganas, while Shashank Sethi, MD, WBHIDCO, will take charge as DM, North 24-Parganas. Kuhuk Bhushan, Special Secretary, Panchayats and Rural Development Department, has been appointed DM, Kalimpong, replacing Balasubramanian T, who moves to South Dinajpur. Rajarshi Mitra, DM Murshidabad, has been appointed MD, WBHIDCO. Rajat Nanda, DM Purulia, becomes Director of Tourism, and Preeti Goyal, DM Darjeeling, takes charge as DM, Malda. Nitin Singhania will be the new DM, Murshidabad, while Bidhan Roy, DM Birbhum, joins the Food and Supplies Department as Special Secretary.
Mukta Arya, DM Hooghly, has been made Secretary, Industry and Commerce Department, and Bijin Krishna, DM South Dinajpur, has been posted as DM, West Midnapore, replacing Khursheed Ali Qadri, who becomes DM, Hooghly. Among other changes, Manish Mishra, ADM North 24-Parganas, becomes DM, Cooch Behar; Akansha Bhaskar, ADM Basirhat, is now DM, Jhargram, and Sunil
Agarwal, DM Jhargram, has been made Special Secretary, North Bengal Development Department. Purnendu Maji, DM East Midnapore, has been posted as Special Secretary, Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department, while Raju Mishra, Special Secretary, Industry and Commerce, is now DM, Cooch Behar. U.R. Ismail, Special Secretary, Health, takes over as DM, East Midnapore, and Kontham Sudhir, CEO, Haldia Development Authority, has been made DM, Purulia.
Additionally, 10 IAS officers serving as OSD have been appointed as SDOs, while 15 others have been transferred as ADM, SDO, and Joint Secretary. Another 21 IAS officers working as ADMs in various districts have been moved to different state
government departments.