Nandini Chakrabarty, JNU alumni, becomes second woman home secy of Bengal
KOLKATA: The Mamata Banerjee government on Sunday appointed Nandini Chakrabarty as the second woman home secretary in the history of West Bengal’s bureaucracy. Lina Chakrabarty was the first woman home secretary of the state and she served from 1996 to 1998.
Before she was appointed as the second-in-command in the hierarchy of state’s bureaucracy, the 1994-IAS officer’s career went through peaks and valleys since the change of guard in the state in 2011. Nandini Chakrabarty, a JNU alumni, joined the civil service during the Left Front government and she became one of the favourite bureaucrat of Mamata Banerjee after the Trinamool came to power in 2011. She was appointed as the managing director of industrial development corporation and director of the information and cultural affairs department as well.
“In an incident in 2012, the CM was unhappy with Nandini. In the middle of an event where Nandini was sharing stage with the CM, she informed her that she would not able to be present in next day’s programme organised by the state government in Burdwan district.
The CM got angry and Nandini was transferred as the secretary of state gazetteer department, a less important wing,” said a senior bureaucrat. Chakrabarty served as the tourism secretary. She then became principal secretary of the governor but was relieved of her duties in February when CV Anand Bose decided to set up a new team.