UT bans transfer of staff till Dec 20

Chandigarh: Acting on the recommendation of the UT State Election Commission, the Chandigarh Administration has imposed a ban on the transfer of officers of the Administration and the Municipal Corporation till December 20 “in the interests of smooth polling”. Though the poll code for the MC elections will come into force on November 15, the Election Commission had recommended imposition of a ban on the transfers from October 15 to December 20. The orders were issued by the Secretary (Personnel), UT, on October 15. However, the letter in this regard was received by the Municipal Corporation on Thursday. UT State Election Commissioner Rakesh Mehta said the recommendation was part of the smooth election management system. In the past, the department had faced hurdles due to transfers. With the new orders, it would now be easy to communicate with the officers involved in the election exercise, Mehta said. 

Returning officers appointed

The Election Commission has appointed nine returning officers, including two as reserve, for the coming MC poll. 

• Director, Social Welfare Department, Nishu Nee Namrata Singhal (Ward No. 1, 2, 3 and 4)
• Secretary, Chandigarh Housing Board, Shilpi Pattar (Ward No. 5, 6, 7 and 8)
• Director, Public Relations, Navjot Kaur (Ward No. 9, 10, 11 and 12)
• Additional Inspector General, Prisons, SK Jain (Ward No. 13, 14, 15 and 16)
• Director-cum-Joint Secretary, Technical Education, Rakesh Kumar Popli (Ward No. 17, 18, 19 and 20)
• Additional Secretary, Employment, Rajiv Gupta (Ward No. 21, 22 and 23)
• Director, School Education, Rubinderjit Singh Brar (Ward No. 24, 25 and 26)
• Director, Rural Development and Panchayats, Ranjit Kaur and Additional Secretary, Home, Kuljit Paul Singh Mahi, have been kept as reserve. 

Election Commissioner’s tenure ends in Nov 

Though the UT Administration has banned the transfer of UT officials, State Election Commissioner Rakesh Mehta’s tenure is coming to an end in the last week of November. Mehta said the government “will take its decision but the election process will not stop”.