Bengal govt pushes for swift appointment to key election posts ahead of voter list revision

Kolkata, Aug 28 (PTI) Acting on a directive from the Election Commission to fast-track appointments to crucial election-related posts that have remained vacant for months due to legal complications, the West Bengal government has set a Friday deadline for the purpose, an official said.

According to the official, the district magistrates (DMs) have been directed by Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to assess the current status of appointments to the posts of electoral registration officers (EROs) and assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) and complete the recruitment process by August 29.

A meeting in this connection was held at the secretariat on Wednesday.

"Each assembly constituency requires one ERO, and a large number of these posts remain vacant due to delays caused by ongoing court cases, including those related to OBC reservations. A directive has been given to fast-track the appointments," the official said.

"Only Sub-Divisional Officers (SDOs) should be appointed as EROs, and where SDOs are unavailable, senior WBCS officers are to be assigned," he said.

In addition, 610 AERO posts were currently vacant, secretariat sources said, adding that AEROs are typically selected from among extension officers in the blocks and the block-level officers of various departments.

"It has been decided that officers of equivalent rank from other departments may be entrusted with the role, subject to Election Commission approval," he said.

The number of polling booths in the state has surged to nearly 95,000, necessitating an expansion in the number of booth-level officers (BLOs), a poll body official said.

The state government has already begun this process with the approval of the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office, the official said. PTI SCH MNB