Cooch Behar, July 27 -- Cooch Behar Sadar Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Govinda Nandi was on Monday appointed Administrator of the Cooch Behar Municipality following the dissolution of the civic board after the resignation of its chairman, vice chairman and a majority of councillors.
Nandi formally assumed charge at a meeting held at the municipal office in the presence of Cooch Behar District Magistrate Jitin Yadav.
Speaking after taking charge, the newly appointed Administrator said his immediate priority would be to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of civic services.
"Utmost importance will be given to ensuring the smooth functioning of all municipal services. We will strengthen the Municipality's revenue collection system, maintain strict financial discipline and ensure that no illegal collection of money takes place," he said.
The appointment comes days after Chairman Dilip Saha, Vice Chairman Amina Ahmed and a total of 15 councillors resigned, leading to the collapse of the Trinamool Congress-run municipal board and creating an administrative vacuum. Following the dissolution of the board, the state government moved to appoint an Administrator to oversee the Municipality's functioning.
The BJP had been demanding the appointment of an Administrator, alleging that the civic body had failed to provide adequate public services.
Reacting to the development, Cooch Behar District BJP President Abhijit Barman said: "The chairman, vice chairman and councillors resigned after the Trinamool Congress-run board failed to provide proper civic services to the people.
We expect the Administrator to ensure transparent and efficient municipal administration so that residents receive the services they deserve."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.