A day after the Election Commission of India removed 11 District Magistrates (DMs), the state government on Thursday reassigned nine of them to new positions.
The reshuffle, announced by Nabanna, also included fresh postings for two former District Election Officers (DEOs) of Kolkata.
According to the official notification, all officers have been asked to assume charge of their new roles with immediate effect.
Among the key changes, Arvind Kumar Meena, who was removed as the DM of South 24-Parganas, has been appointed Secretary of the minority affairs department.
Ayesha Rani, the former DM of East Burdwan, has been posted as Secretary of the urban development and municipal affairs department.
Surendra Kumar Meena, earlier the DM of Murshidabad, will now serve as Special Secretary in the agriculture department.
Nikhil Nirmal, removed as the DM of Nadia, has been made Special Secretary in the school education department.
Similarly, Priti Goyal, former DM of Malda, has been appointed Special Secretary in the health department, while Syed N, who served as DM of North 24-Parganas, has been given the role of Special Secretary in the panchayat and rural development department.
Abhijit Tukaram, the removed DM of Alipurduar, has been posted as Special Secretary in the animal resources development department.
Raju Mishra, former DM of Cooch Behar, will serve as Special Secretary in the transport department, and Ravi Prakash Meena, who was removed as DM of Jalpaiguri, has been made Special Secretary in the mass education extension department.
The reshuffle also covered two former Kolkata DEOs.
Unlike other districts, Kolkata does not have a District Magistrate, and the DEO role is assigned to senior IAS officers.
Sumit Gupta, who was serving as DEO of South Kolkata, has been appointed Secretary of the disaster management department.
Anshul Gupta, who was recently removed as DEO of north Kolkata by the commission, has been posted as Special Secretary in the urban development department.
The developments come amid a series of sweeping changes initiated by the Election Commission of India following the announcement of the Assembly election schedule in the state.
Several top bureaucrats, including the Chief Secretary and Home Secretary, were earlier removed.
This was followed by the transfer of senior police officials such as the Kolkata Police Commissioner, the Director General of Police, and the ADG (Law and Order), along with multiple DMs and DIGs.
While Nabanna has consistently reassigned removed officials to new posts, the ruling Trinamul Congress has strongly criticised the commission’s actions.