Election Commission tells West Bengal officials to step up action against Covid-19 violations

Enforcement under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, for ensuring Covid-19 appropriate behaviour in public campaigns has been ‘less than adequate’ in West Bengal, the Election Commission of India told top state officials in a review meeting held on Saturday.

In a meeting called by chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra and election commissioner Rajiv Kumar with the state chief secretary, secretaries of Disaster Management and Health and the chief electoral officer of West Bengal, the poll panel asked official machinery ‘to step up its assigned statutory duty’.

It further reminded that the district machinery, which is tasked with election works, that it continues to remain responsible for enforcement of other laws, including the DM Act, simultaneously.


EC also directed that the state disaster management authority and its functionaries to monitor the implementation of Covid-19 norms during the campaign and take appropriate action in case of any violation.

The chief secretary assured the poll panel that the entire machinery has been directed to take ‘more stringent and prompt steps for sensitisation and enforcement’ of extant instructions under the DM Act.

Health secretary also informed that as per the commission’s directions nodal health officers have been assigned at each of the 294 assembly constituencies and that elaborate arrangements have been made for collection and disposal of gloves and any bio-medical waste discarded by the voters after use at the polling stations.