Kolkata (15.05.2026): Amid lots of uncertainty and trust deficit in West Bengal for bureaucrats for being perceived to be divided on political lines but the newly appointed Suvendu Adhikari government has made it clear that it means only business with the appointment of former West Bengal Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty (IAS: 1994: WB) a crucial assignment.
Anyone working in West Bengal will have to deliver for the state and the government doesn’t have any prejudice whatever the public perception may be. This shows from the example when reportedly Chakraborty has been retained in her current position as “principal coordinator for development works”, a post directly under the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), but with specific and different assignments. This is to recall that the former Chief Secretary of West Bengal was removed from the coveted assignment by the Election Commission of India (ECI) after the announcement of the polling dates for the recently concluded state Assembly elections.
As the “principal coordinator for development works”, Chakraborty’s first and foremost assignment is to ensure the smooth handover of land to the Border Security Force (BSF) to erect barbed wire fencing at the international border with Bangladesh bordering the state. The last government did not allot the land despite the Union Home Ministry writing seven letters to the state in this regard that the concerned minister Amit Shah informed Parliament.
In the first cabinet meeting led by CM Adhikari on May 11, 2026, the first resolution was adopted to complete the process of handing over land for the said purpose to the BSF within the next 45 days. This is one of the important poll promises of the BJP to check infiltration from across the border. Chakraborty with her administrative experiences in crucial state government departments, especially the state home department and finally the Chief Secretary, was chosen as the most suitable person by the new Chief Minister for the chair involving a crucial assignment. As the ‘principal coordinator for development works’, she will also monitor the process of implementing the Centrally-sponsored development projects in the state. This is also an important responsibility because the BJP claims that their double engine growth model gives a multiplier effect.
Chakraborty was the first woman Chief Secretary of the state. However, her tenure in that Chair was extremely short, for around two months, as she was removed by the ECI within hours after the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, announced the polling dates on March 15, 2026. It may be an experiment for the BJP with such officers but a great responsibility on officers if all talks on streets are meaningless and officers are true to their constitutional responsibility.
