Kolkata: Smita Pandey has been appointed as the first woman commissioner of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The Election Commission appointed Pandey as part of its order removing 13 district election officers (DEOs). The KMC commissioner serves as the DEO for North Kolkata.
Pandey is an IAS officer from the 2005 batch. She replaces Anshul Gupta, a 2013-batch IAS officer whom the West Bengal government appointed on March 6. Previously Pandey served as project director of the Kolkata Environment Improvement Investment Programme (KEIIP) from January 2013 to February 2014. This was an Asian Development Bank-funded initiative to upgrade the city’s drainage and water supply infrastructure.
Pandey also served as district magistrate of Purba Medinipur and Uttar Dinajpur. She had also served as special secretary of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. In November 2025, the EC appointed her as the special roll observer for Birbhum, Purba Bardhaman and Paschim Bardhaman districts during the SIR.
As DEO of North Kolkata, she will oversee polling in seven assembly constituencies. These are Chowringhee, Entally, Beleghata, Jorasanko, Shyampukur, Maniktala and Cossipore-Belgachia.
Pandey had served as DEO, south Kolkata, during the 2016 Assembly elections.
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