In a significant official move just after the declaration of assembly election results, West Bengal Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala (IAS:1993:WB) virtually declared a lockdown on official files and documents for protection in the state. In his order, issued on Monday, he has directed all departments to make sure that no important file or document is taken out, damaged, or removed from office premises under any circumstances.
With an aim to ensure tighter administrative control and accountability across departments, the CS has also made it clear that senior officials will be directly responsible for safeguarding government records.
According to the order, all departmental secretaries and heads of offices have been asked to ensure that “no important paper or any file is removed/damaged or otherwise taken out from the offices.” Even unauthorised copying or scanning of documents is not permitted.
Heads of departments and departmental secretaries have been asked to personally ensure compliance “in letter and spirit.”
The order also warns that personal responsibility will be fixed in case of any deviation, and senior officials will be directly answerable for any breach involving official records.
Though no specific reason has been given for this move, officials indicated that departments are expected to comply immediately and tighten internal controls around document handling.
The communication has been forwarded to all Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and Secretaries across departments. Besides, the directive has also been forwarded to the Directors General (DGs) and Inspector General (IGs), Divisional Commissioners, the Kolkata Police Commissioner, and all District Magistrates (DMs).
A separate copy has also been sent to the Secretary to the Governor for information.
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