Centre begins action against ex-chief secy

The fresh show-cause notice – he has been given 30 days to respond – was issued on June 16, nearly a fortnight after the Union home ministry threatened to initiate action against him for missing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting in the aftermath of cyclone Yaas.

The Centre has initiated disciplinary proceedings against former West Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, now an adviser to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, that could cost him his pensionary benefits if the charges against him are proven, people familiar with the matter said.

In a memo issued to Alapan Bandyopadhyay, the Centre said that it proposed to hold major penalty proceedings against him under Rule 8 of All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) 1969 and Rule 6 of All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement benefits) Rules, 1958.

The fresh show-cause notice – he has been given 30 days to respond – was issued on June 16, nearly a fortnight after the Union home ministry threatened to initiate action against him for missing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting in the aftermath of cyclone Yaas.

In a memo issued to Bandyopadhyay, the Centre said that it proposed to hold major penalty proceedings against him under Rule 8 of All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) 1969 and Rule 6 of All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement benefits) Rules, 1958. According to the rules, the Centre, which has initiated major penalty proceedings against the 1984 batch IAS officer, can withhold “pension or gratuity, or both, either in full or in part, whether permanently or for a specified period”.

TMC leader Saugata Roy said, “The letter shows how inhuman the Modi government is. Alapan lost his brother and mother recently...The Centre cannot take any action against him under service conduct rules...He can always move the court...”