Kolkata: The West Bengal government has directed district magistrates to strictly follow the Supreme Court’s directions on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls while ensuring that routine administrative work, particularly welfare scheme implementation, is not disrupted.

The instructions were issued during a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty on Monday, which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee joined briefly. District magistrates, who also serve as district electoral officers, were advised to conduct the revision exercise in line with the apex court’s recent order rather than act on what were described as “arbitrary” instructions from higher authorities of the Election Commission of India (ECI), a meeting attendee said.

On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a series of directions to the ECI to ensure that the Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal, especially the verification of voters under the “logical discrepancies” category, is carried out transparently and without causing undue hardship to citizens.

The chief minister also instructed district officials to ensure that their regular administrative responsibilities, including the execution of state government welfare schemes, are not neglected due to excessive focus on the revision exercise.

According to the attendee, Banerjee further reminded district magistrates that the state government will retain administrative control over them after the Assembly elections scheduled later this year. She also assured officials of full state government support if they face what she termed undue pressure from the Election Commission.

The directions come amid an ongoing tussle between the West Bengal government and the ECI over the conduct and scope of the Special Intensive Revision process in the state.

IANS