TV
Ahead of the crucial 2024 elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday asked state governments to ensure that Chief Electoral Officers (CEO) and other officers are not assigned additional charges.
In its letter to Chief Secretaries of all states and UTs, the ECI has asked for divesting of additional charge of the Chief Electoral Officer and other officers in his office.
The directive comes as the Chief Electoral Officer and other officers in his office need to focus and exclusively devote themselves for substantive election-related work.
“It is imperative that all election machinery has ample time and space on hand to focus on election-related work which invariably takes priority over others. The state governments shall strictly take prior permission of the Election Commission of India before issuing any such orders regarding transfer/ posting or giving additional charge to the Chief Electoral Officer and officers in his office,” the official ECI letter read.
Following this development, speculations are rife that the Odisha Chief Electoral Officer, Nikunja Dhal may be relieved from the additional charge of the Energy department.
