Kolkata: Ms Nandini Chakraborty, a 1994 batch IAS officer and the former Chief Secretary of West Bengal and the first woman to hold the state’s top bureaucratic post, has been entrusted with a crucial assignment in the new government led by Suvendu Adhikari.
Sources in Nabanna said Ms Chakraborty has been retained as Principal Coordinator for Development Works, a post functioning directly under the Chief Minister’s Office, West Bengal, and has been assigned fresh responsibilities of strategic importance.
To Oversee Land Handover to BSF for Border Fencing
Her first major assignment will be to ensure the smooth transfer of land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for installation of barbed-wire fencing along the India-Bangladesh international border in West Bengal.
The task assumes significance because the state cabinet, in its first meeting on May 11, resolved to complete the land handover process within 45 days.
Will Also Monitor Centrally Sponsored Projects
Apart from the border fencing initiative, IAS Chakraborty will oversee the implementation and progress of centrally sponsored development schemes across the state.
Her extensive administrative experience in key departments, especially the Home Department and later as Chief Secretary, is said to have played a decisive role in her selection for this critical responsibility.
Removed as Chief Secretary by Election Commission
Ms Chakraborty had been appointed Chief Secretary in January 2026, becoming the first woman to hold the post in West Bengal.
However, her tenure lasted only about two months. On March 15, shortly after Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, a retired 1988-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, announced the state Assembly election schedule, the Election Commission of India directed her removal from the post.
Her appointment had also generated controversy, as several senior IAS officers were superseded in the process.
Who Is Nandini Chakraborty?
A 1994-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, Ms Chakraborty is widely regarded as one of the state’s most experienced administrators.
Academic Background
• Graduate in Geography from Lady Brabourne College
• Master’s degree from the Centre for the Study of Regional Development at Jawaharlal Nehru University
• Recipient of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Award in 1993
Key Administrative Roles
Over her distinguished career, she has served as:
- District Magistrate of Howrah
- Secretary, Industry Department
- Secretary, Information and Cultural Affairs
- Secretary, Tourism Department
- Managing Director, West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation
- Principal Secretary to Governor C. V. Ananda Bose
- Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Hill Affairs Department
- Chief Secretary of West Bengal
Why This Assignment Matters
Ms Chakraborty’s new responsibilities indicate that the Suvendu Adhikari government is leveraging her deep experience in governance, internal security, and project implementation.
Her role in coordinating BSF land transfer and monitoring central schemes places her at the center of two priority areas for the new administration: border security and development execution.
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