Alapan, Bengal CS reply to notice from Centre

Former Chief Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay replied to the show cause notice on Thursday, sent to him by the Centre on May 31.

West Bengal Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi has also replied to the showcause letter separately as the letter was sent to Bengal Home Secretary just before his retirement on May 31 and Alapan is not the Bengal Chief Secretary.

A union home ministry spokesperson said that they are yet to receive the reply from the former chief secretary. "Once received, the contents will be examined by the ministry and a legal opinion taken before further action into the matter", said another official.


Union Government showcaused former West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay for “abstaining” from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s review meeting on Cyclone Yaas on May 28 in Kalaikunda. Bandopadhyay retired on Monday evening, following acrimony between the Centre and the state for the last few days.

In a letter sent to him, Bandopadhyay has been asked to clarify in writing within three days “why action should not be taken against him under Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act 2005”.

The union government can take action against the former bureaucrat under the Disaster Management Act for not being present at the review meeting by the PM after Cyclone Yaas.

In the showcause letter, it was pointed out that “the PM and other members of his entourage waited for nearly 15 minutes for the government officials to arrive. In view of the absence, the Chief Secretary was called by an official as to whether they wanted to participate in the review meeting or not. Therefore, Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal, arrived along with the Chief Minister of West Bengal inside the meeting room and left thereafter immediately.”

Sources said Alapan has reportedly cited details about his schedule on May 28, when he visited to the Cyclone Yaas affected Hingalganj, Sagar Island on an aerial survey with the CM and participated in the review meetings with her after which they reached the PM’s review meeting at Kalaikunda. He had to leave for Digha with the CM, following his visit to Kalaikunda.