Basudeb Banerjee takes over as Chief Secretary, Moloy De gets Home

In a major reshuffle in West Bengal’s top bureaucracy, Home Secretary Basudeb Banerjee was on Wednesday elevated to the post of Chief Secretary.

The change was necessary as Sanjay Mitra, who was serving as Chief Secretary in the state, will take over as Secretary in the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Thursday.

Mitra would take over from Vijay Chhibber who superannuates on Thursday, sources said.

The decision on top bureaucratic reshuffle was taken at an administrative meeting after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee returned to the state secretariat from her two-day visit to North Bengal.

The 1982 batch IAS officer, Mitra handed over charge to his successor and 1983 batch officer Banerjee.

Present state Health Secretary Moloy De would take over as the new Home Secretary, while Agriculture Secretary R S Shukla would be Health Secretary.

Sanjib Chopra, who was in Delhi as Joint Secretary under the Agriculture Ministry, would take over as the new Agriculture Secretary in the state.

Besides, state’s Animal Resources Development (ARD) Secretary Rajesh Kumar Sinha has been asked to look after the Agriculture Marketing department as additional charge.