SHILLONG, Nov 6: Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed the chief secretaries and police chiefs of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura, which will be going for polls in 2023, to submit compliance reports on transfer and posting of all officers by December 15.

A letter issued by the ECI senior principal secretary Narendra N Butolia on November 4 said, “The commission has further directed that transfer/posting of all officers covered under the above instructions shall be done and compliance reports by Chief Secretary and DGP with details of action obtained from the concerned departments/offices of state government shall be furnished to the commission by December 15.”

It said the commission has been following a consistent policy that officers directly connected with conduct of elections in an election going state/UT are not posted in their home districts or places where they have served for considerably long period.

Hence, the commission has decided that no officer connected directly with elections shall be allowed to continue in the present district (revenue district) of posting :” if she/he is posted in her/his home districts, if she/he has completed three years in that district during last four years or would be completing 3 years on or before March 31, 2023″. While calculating the period of three years, promotion to a post within the district is to be counted.

It said that if any small state/ UT with a few number of districts, face any difficulty in compliance of the above instruction, then it may refer the specific case with reasons to the commission through CEO for exemption and the commission would issue directions, if considered necessary.

With regards to district officers, the Commission said these instructions shall cover not only officers appointed for specific election duties like DEOs, Dy.DEOs, RO/AROs, EROs/AEROs, officers appointed as nodal officers of any specific election works but also district officers like ADMs, SDMs, Dy.Collector/Joint Collector, Tehsildar, Block Development Officers or any other officer of equal rank directly deployed for election works.

For police officers, the commission said these instructions shall also be applicable to the police department officers such as Range IGs, DIGs, Commandants of State Armed Police, SSPs, SPs, Addl SPs, Sub-Divisional Head of Police, SHOs, Inspectors, Sub-Inspector, RIs/Sergeant Majors or equivalent ranks, who are responsible for security arrangement or deployment of police forces in the district at election time.

The police officials who are posted in functional departments like computerization, special branch, training etc, are not covered under these instructions.

It said the Police Sub-Inspectors and above should not be posted in their home district. If a Police Sub-Inspector has completed or would be completing a tenure of 3 years out of four years on or before the cutoff date in a police sub-division, then he should be transferred out to a police sub-division which does not fall in the same AC. If that is not possible due to small size of district, then he/she should be transferred out of the district.

During an election, a large number of employees are drafted for different types of election duty and the commission has no intention of massive dislocation of state machinery by large scale transfers, it said.

Hence, the aforesaid transfer policy is normally not applicable to the categories of officers – posted in the state headquarters of the department concerned, officers/officials who are not directly connected with elections like doctors, engineers, teachers etc and others, it added.