CEO seeks infra for 19 poll tribunals, asks state to fast-track setup across districts

Kolkata: Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has written to the state Chief Secretary to develop necessary infrastructure for setting up tribunals in the state.

The CEO has asked the state administration to identify buildings where such tribunals can be set up.

The communication by the state CEO specifically directs authorities to identify appropriate premises across districts, that ensures easy accessibility for the public.

The process of providing essential facilities in such buildings to operationalise the tribunals should be fast-tracked.

The poll body has notified that 19 tribunals will be constituted in different parts of Bengal as per orders of the apex court under the supervision of the Calcutta High Court.

The poll body has already appointed several retired judges as appellate authorities for different districts of the state. Six such tribunals will come up in North Bengal, while 13 will be set up in South Bengal, including in North 24-Parganas, Kolkata, East Midnapore, Cooch Behar, Nadia and Howrah. T S Sivagnanam, former Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, will be dealing with grievances from the entire Kolkata and some Assembly constituencies of North 24-Parganas.

The CEO, in his letter, has mentioned that there should be provisions for adequate staff and administrative officers to assist the former judges who will preside over these tribunals. The electors who feel that their names have been excluded after adjudication without a valid reason may seek redressal in these tribunals.

Two modes have been provided for filing appeals. Electors can submit their applications online through the ECI NET platform or file them physically through the district administration (DM/SDM/SDO offices). The administration will be responsible for uploading such applications to the digital platform.

The Commission has clarified that the functioning of the tribunal will cease once all pending appeals in the respective districts are disposed of.

State CEO Manoj Agarwal said that a list of places for setting up such tribunals has been sought from the state Chief Secretary. “Once we receive the feedback, we will submit the same to the Calcutta High Court. It will inspect the places, and if they give the nod, we will proceed accordingly. If the sites are not approved, we have to look for other places,” he added.

Earlier, there have been instances of tribunals being set up at Indira Bhavan, 5 Council House Street, among other places.