Amidst the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and the election cycle, the Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal has expanded the Chief Electoral Officer’s financial powers, placing him on par with senior state bureaucrats, including an additional chief secretary, principal secretary, and secretary. It has been done to delegate financial authority to the CEO.
The CEO will now be empowered to independently sanction expenditure under Administrative Expenditures and State Development Scheme (SDS) categories. The audit branch of the finance department issued an order in this regard, saying the decision follows a long-pending proposal. Official sources said that the move will help streamline administrative processes and expedite project-related approvals within the CEO’s office.
The government’s order has come after the state BJP unit submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that the CEO’s office in Bengal lacked independence from the state administration. Acting on it, the ECI had directed the state government, through a letter to Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, to take necessary steps to strengthen the CEO’s office and create a separate election department fully delinked from any state department.
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