State circular mandates ULB recruitments through WB Municipal Service Commission

Kolkata: Following Calcutta High Court’s directive, the state government has issued a circular asserting that all recruitments of personnel in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the state be made only through West Bengal Municipal Service Commission (WBMSC).

The circular dated March 3 stated that such clarifications in the wake of the High Court order last month directing the state to issue appropriate orders reiterating the directions given in an earlier 2019 notification to ensure that all the Urban Local Bodies and Development Authorities shall henceforth make all recruitments of personnel through the WBMSC.

The state’s directive read that “all recruitments of personnel in the establishments of Urban Local Bodies (municipal corporations, municipalities, notified area authorities, industrial township authorities) and also establishment of different Organisations under Urban Development and Municipal Affairs department as envisages in the Act shall be made through West Bengal Municipal Service Commission”. The municipalities and notified area authorities shall send their requisition of selection of personnel to the WBMSC through Director of Local Bodies while the Municipal Corporations and Development Authorities shall send requisition to the Commission through Department of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs (UD & MA). In the case concerned ‘Sandipan Khan vs The State of West Bengal & Ors’, the petitioner had alleged that recruitment in municipalities has been made directly by the respective municipality (Rishra Municipality) without approaching the WBMSC. It is in this matter that the bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya gave the directions to the state.