West Bengal government recruitment and police expansion

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced a large-scale recruitment drive to fill 100,000 government positions across 54 departments within the current financial year. The plan targets sectors such as teaching, the Eastern Frontier Rifles, and law enforcement, including 12,000 state police officers and 5,000 Kolkata Police personnel. To combat corruption and nepotism, the administration proposed measures such as providing candidates with copies of their exam answer sheets and limiting interview marks to a maximum of 5 points.

Following this, the West Bengal Cabinet approved 14,454 recruitments across the Forest, Fire Services, Prison, and Home and Hill Affairs departments, with processes expected to conclude within six to eight months via the West Bengal Public Service Commission and the West Bengal Police Recruitment Board. The state also approved the allocation of 400 police vehicles and 400 motorcycles, and increased monthly allowances for certain contractual cleaning staff from Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000.

On October 11, 11,000 newly recruited police personnel received appointment letters. Adhikari stated the goal is to expand the police force to surpass Uttar Pradesh in personnel strength within two years, noting the state’s current ratio of 105 police personnel per lakh population is below the national average of 155. Future recruitment plans include 300 Kolkata Police sub-inspectors, the completion of 4,000 constable recruitments by December, and a notification for 9,000 additional vacancies in late November. Adhikari attributed previous delays to legal complications regarding OBC reservations under the former administration. Additionally, the government implemented a bureaucratic reshuffle involving four IAS officers across several departments ahead of the Durga Puja festival.