Kolkata: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday directed the West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) officers not to respond to the queries sent from the Centre without first informing the state administration. She told them to take instructions from the state government before sending their replies.
Ms Banerjee was addressing the annual general meeting of the WBCS (Executive) Officers’ Association at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra.
She told the civil servants: “Nowadays many instructions come from New Delhi. Do not respond to them without informing us. Remember you belong to the state cadre and serve the state. Whenever you get any such instruction, you should inform us instead of implementing it because it may not be suitable for us as the instruction may vary from one state to another.”
The chief minister elaborated, “We will tell you to what to do and what not to do. Since you are attached to the state government, you will not send anything on your own. You will act as and when you will be directed by the state government to do so.”
Emphasising the relations between the civil servants and the government she explained, “Like we can not move ahead without you, you also can not go ahead without us.”
Praising the state cadre’s civil servants she described them as the ‘face’ and ‘pillar’ of the government at the grass-root level. “The work you do is very tough,” Ms Banerjee added.
She later announced that the special allowance for WBCS officers, posted as the block development officers, would be hiked from Rs 950 to Rs 1,200. The WBCS officers annual confidential reports would also be made online, she added.
