Ahead of EC’s roll revision drive, Bengal shuffles 527 bureaucrats

KOLKATA: Bengal govt has transferred 67 IAS and 460 state civil services officers in one of its largest single-day administrative reshuffles yet, moving 14 district magistrates, besides key civic and infrastructure officials. The sweeping changes come months before EC's special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which begins this week in Delhi and will start soon in Bengal. Under Article 324(1) of the Constitution, the SIR process vests EC with powers of "superintendence, direction and control" similar to those it exercises during elections. Administrative officers such as DMs and block development officers serve as electoral registration officers during this phase. Many of the transferred officers had been in their posts between two-and-a-half and four years and were close to breaching EC's rule barring officials from holding the same post for more than three years when elections are announced. Bengal's assembly polls are expected by March 2026, and EC's schedule for electoral roll verification is seen as a precursor to the election calendar. "The transfers were routine," a senior state officer said, but officials acknowledged that carrying out such a reshuffle after EC's process began would have been "much more complicated and difficult".

Legal experts said once SIR starts, EC's direct oversight limits the state's power to reassign key officers. The reshuffle order, signed Friday, comes amid what insiders described as "feelers" from EC over the "slow pace" of SIR preparations in some districts. "DMs also become district electoral registration officers once the SIR process starts and come under EC's direct purview. EC could have asked for transfer of those DMs with whose work it was not satisfied," a retired bureaucrat said. Officials said similar transfers in police administration could follow to comply with EC's three-year rule, though those can wait until before formal poll announcement, as police personnel do not come under EC control during the SIR phase.