BP Gopalika becomes Bengal's Chief Secy

Kolkata: BP Gopalika has been appointed as the state chief secretary replacing H K Dwivedi whose extended tenure has come to an end while Nandini Chakravorty has been appointed as the principal secretary of Bengal Home and Hill Affairs department.

A state government notification stated that Dwivedi will be taking over as chief advisor (Finance) to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for a period of three years starting from January 1, 2024. Dwivedi was granted a six month extension by the Centre in June.

Meanwhile, Nandini Chakravorty has been appointed as the principal secretary of the Home and Hill Affairs department. Chakravorty, an IAS officer of 1994 batch, will be replacing B P Gopalika.

Chakravorty will be holding additional charge of the Parliamentary Affairs department and continue to hold the charge as the principal secretary of the Tourism department. She has been holding the charge of the Tourism department since February 2023.

Earlier, she had also served as the managing director of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation as principal secretary in the Food Processing Industries and Horticulture department as well as in the Information and Cultural Affairs department.

Chakravorty in February 2023 was abruptly relieved from her post as principal secretary of Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose. She was appointed as Governor’s principal secretary soon after La Ganeshan had taken over as interim Bengal Governor in July 2022. She is the second woman after Lina Chakraborty to hold the post of state Home secretary. Lina Chakraborty was the state Home secretary from November 26, 1996 to September 7, 1998 during the erstwhile Left Front government.

Gopalika has served in various government departments such as Transport, Animal Resources Development, Personnel and Administrative Reforms etc.