Kolkata: The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, has directed district magistrates (DMs), who also serve as district electoral officers (DEOs), and have been removed by the Election Commission of India (ECI), to immediately vacate their official bungalows for their successors.
“The ECI had recently removed a total of 13 DM-rank officials, who are also DEOs of the respective districts, and also announced the names of those bureaucrats who would replace them. However, this week, the CEO’s office received complaints that some of the erstwhile DMs, who have been removed, are yet to vacate their official bungalows for their successors. In such a situation, the CEO’s office has clearly instructed the removed DM/DEOs to vacate the official bungalows allotted to them for their successors by March 22,” a CEO’s office insider said.
He said that complaints regarding the removed DM/DEOs not vacating their official bungalows had been received from districts such as Cooch Behar, Malda, and Jalpaiguri.
“The CEO’s office believes that the official bungalow allotted to the DM/DEOs is not just their residential accommodation, but also their secondary workplace. In such a situation, if the removed DMs/DEOs continue occupying the bungalows allotted to them, it will cause inconvenience for their successors, considering that in poll-bound West Bengal, they will have to carry out the dual responsibilities of state administrative functioning and election-related duties. Therefore, the CEO’s office has set a deadline for the removed DMs/DEOs to vacate their official bungalows for their successors by March 22,” the CEO’s office insider said.
A retired bureaucrat, who was associated with the state government, said on condition of anonymity that taking some time to vacate official bungalows after transfers or retirement has been a long-standing practice.
“While there have been instances of bureaucrats vacating their official bungalows on the day of transfer or retirement, there have also been instances where transferred or retired bureaucrats sought some time to vacate them. But while that is acceptable during a normal period, it is not acceptable during the election phase, considering the pressure of dual responsibilities on bureaucrats, especially the DMs/DEOs,” the retired bureaucrat said.
(IANS)
