• Directs transfer of all officers from home districts; completing 3 years
• Asks for compliance reports by December 15
Morung Express News
Dimapur | November 6
With the term of Legislative Assemblies of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura due to expire by March 2023, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed the Chief Secretaries and the Chief Electoral Officers of the three states to undertake transfer and posting of officials.
Among others, the commission stated that no officer connected directly with elections would be allowed to continue in the present district (revenue district) of posting if “she/he is posted in her/his home district.”
It also directed for transfer of those officers if they have ‘completed three years in that district during the last four years or would be completing 3 years on or before March 31, 2023.’
While calculating the period, promotion to a post within the district is to be counted, stated a letter written by the ECI’s Senior Principal Secretary Narendra N Butolia to the CSs and CEOs of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura on November 4.
“The Commission has been following a consistent policy that officers directly connected with conduct of elections in an election going State/UT are not posted in their home districts or places where they have served for considerably long period,” it added.
As per the ECI’s letter, the term of existing Legislative Assembly of Nagaland ends on March 12, 2023, while in Meghalaya and Tripura, it expires on March 15 and March 22, 2023 respectively.
The Chief Secretaries and DGPs of respective states were further directed to submit compliance reports with details of action obtained from the concerned departments/offices of State Government to the Commission by December 15, 2022.
Categories of officers covered under transfer policy
As per the ECI’s letter, the instruction included district officers appointed not only for specific election duties like DEOs, Dy. DEOs, RO/AROs, EROs/AEROs, officers appointed as nodal officers of any specific election works but also district officers like ADMs, SDMs, Dy. Collector/Joint Collector, Tehsildar, Block Development Officers or any other officer of equal rank directly deployed for election works.
The transfer/posting instruction will also be “applicable to the police department officers such as Range IGs, DIGs, Commandants of State Armed Police, SSPs, SPs, Addl. SPs, Sub-Divisional Headof Police, SHOs, Inspectors, Sub-lnspector, RIs/Sergeant Majors or equivalent ranks, who are responsible for security arrangement or deployment of police forces in the district at election time.”
In addition, the instructions stated that Police Sub-inspectors and above should not be posted in their home district,
If a Police Sub-inspector has completed or would be completing a tenure of 3 years out of four years on or before the cut-off date in a police sub-division, then she/he should be transferred out to an area not falling in the same Assembly Constituency, it added.
However, if that is not possible due to small size of district, the officer should be transferred out of the district, it added.
The police officials who are posted in functional departments like computerisation, special branch, training, etc, however, are not covered under the policy.
Categories not covered
Meanwhile, the Commission noted that it has no intention of massive dislocation of state machinery by large scale transfers and exempted certain categories of officers from the transfer policy.
Among those are officers posted in the State headquarters of the department concerned and officers/officials not directly connected with elections like doctors, engineers, teachers/principals etc.
However, if there are specific complaints of political bias or prejudice against any such government officer and substantiated on enquiry, then CEO/ECI may order not only the transfer of such official but also appropriate departmental action against the said officer, the ECI clarified.
The officers appointed as Sector Officer/Zonal Magistrate involved in election duties are also not covered under the instructions.
However, the observers, CEO/DEOs and ROs should keep a close watch on their conduct to ensure that they are fair and non-partisan in the performance of their duties, the Commission recommended.
It further directed that the officers/officials against whom the Commission had recommended disciplinary action in past and which is pending or which has resulted in a penalty or the officers who have been charged for any lapse in any election or election related work in the past, shall not be assigned any election related duty.
However, an officer who was transferred during any past election under the Commission's order without any recommendation of disciplinary actions will not be, just on this ground, considered for transfer, unless specifically so directed by the Commission, it stated.
The Commission further desired that no officer/official, against whom a criminal case is pending in any court of law, be associated with/deployed on election related duty, it added.
Any officer, who is due to retire within the coming six months will be exempted from the purview of the Commission's directions but also relieved of that charge and not be associated with any election related duty, the ECI said.
All the officials of the State (except those posted in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer), who are on extension of service or re-employed in different capacities, will not be associated with any election related work, the letter said.
The transfer orders in respect of officers/officials, who are engaged in the electoral rolls revision work, if any, during an election year shall be implemented only after final publication of the electoral rolls, in consultation with the Chief Electoral Officer concerned.
