Kolkata, Oct 12: The West Bengal government on Monday transferred four senior IAS officers in a bureaucratic reshuffle ahead of the forthcoming Durga Puja, according to an official notification.
The transfers involve officers holding key departmental secretary-level positions, including the Sundarbans Affairs, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Tribal Development departments.
Onkar Singh Meena, who was serving as principal secretary of the Agriculture Department, has been transferred to the Animal Husbandry Department in the same capacity.
Mukta Arya, who was the secretary of the Sundarbans Affairs Department, has been appointed chairman and managing director of the West Bengal State Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL).
Shashank Shetty, who was serving as additional director general of the Netaji Subhas Administrative Training Institute, has been appointed secretary of the Sundarbans Affairs Department.
Arvind Kumar Meena, previously secretary of the Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department, has been appointed secretary of the Tribal Development Department.
The state Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department issued the notification detailing the changes and directed the officers concerned to assume their new responsibilities.
The reshuffle comes ahead of Durga Puja, one of West Bengal's biggest annual festivals, when the administration faces increased responsibilities related to public safety, civic services, traffic management and crowd control.
The transfers are part of a series of administrative changes undertaken by the state government in recent months.
The BJP formed the government in West Bengal following the Assembly elections earlier this year, with Suvendu Adhikari taking over as chief minister.
Since assuming office, Adhikari has emphasised the need to accelerate administrative work and improve the functioning of government departments.
The new government has undertaken changes in several administrative departments over the past five months as it seeks to reorganise the state machinery and speed up implementation of its priorities.
The latest reshuffle affects four senior officers and places them in departments dealing with power generation, agriculture-related administration, tribal development and the Sundarbans region.
However, the official notification did not specify any immediate policy changes linked to the transfers.
