Kolkata: In a first, the chief secretary of West Bengal transferred West Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay has been transferred to the Centre’s department of personnel and training, ordering the top civil servant to report in New Delhi on May 31.
In what can be termed as completely unprecedented move, the decision has come soon after a row broke over Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee skipping a meeting convened by the prime minister during his visit to the state.
Mamata Banerjee did not attend the review meeting chaired by PM Modi, saying she had other appointments triggering a fresh political row.
What is intriguing, Mamata Banerjee had announced that the central government had cleared her request to let the officer continue for three more months since he had the experience of working during last year’s Amphan and had handled the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and his transfer comes in the wake of the row. Mr Alapan Bandopadhyay is to retire on May 31.
“I am directed to inform that the appointments committee of the Cabinet has approved the placement of the services of Sri Alapan Bandopadhyay, IAS, (WB:1987) with the Government of India as provisions of Rule 6(1) of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954, with immediate effect,” the letter signed by an official at the Centre’s ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions said.
What makes the transfer unusual is the fact that the 1987 IAS officer, has never served in the central government and would not have been empanelled to serve at senior positions in the government. He was touring the cyclone affected areas when the transfer orders came in points to political reasons rather than any other aver the administrators in West Bengal.
