Bengal govt ends tenure of nominated members and re-employed officials

Kolkata, May 11 (IANS) The West Bengal government, on Monday, issued an order terminating the tenures of nominated directors, members and chairpersons of different boards, organisations, non-statutory bodies and public sector undertakings under various state government departments.

“I am directed to request you that necessary action to immediately terminate the tenures of the nominated Members/Directors/Chairpersons of different Boards, Organizations, non-statutory bodies and public sector undertakings of the State Government under your department may be taken from your end,” read the official order issued by a Senior Special Secretary to the West Bengal government.

The same order also directed the termination of the tenures of erstwhile state government officers who had been enjoying either re-employment or extension of service after superannuation during the tenure of the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government.

“I am further directed to state that the tenure of officers/officials who are on re-employment/extension of service beyond the normal age of superannuation (60 years) in different Departments under the State Government may also be terminated immediately. This issues with the approval of the competent authority,” the order copy read.

The nomination of different persons, especially intellectuals, people from the celebrity world and even serving and retired media persons, to such bodies had become a trend under the previous Mamata Banerjee-led government from 2011 to 2026.

At the same time, several retired bureaucrats and police officers were either re-employed or retained through extensions even after their superannuation by the previous state government, and that too at their last-drawn take-home salaries along with other perks and benefits.

The opposition parties and economic advisors had repeatedly criticised this trend. The political argument against such nominations and re-employments was that these moves were intended either to reward confidants of the ruling party for their unstinted efforts in engaging in propaganda for the erstwhile Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, or to keep the state government’s dirty secrets under wraps.

The economic argument against these nominations and re-employments was that such huge expenditure was unnecessary at a time when the state government had completely stopped fresh recruitment for permanent government positions and was denying existing state government employees and pensioners dearness allowance at par with Central government employees, besides withholding arrears accrued on that count.

Already, after the results of the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly polls were declared on May 4, marking the landslide defeat of the Trinamool Congress, a series of resignations by holders of advisory posts in the previous Mamata Banerjee-led government had begun.

Those who resigned from nominated and advisory posts immediately after the poll results included economist Abhirup Sarkar and three former Chief Secretaries of West Bengal — Alapan Bandyopadhyay, H.K. Dwivedi and Manoj Pant, among others.

–IANS

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