Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday announced that the state government will recruit 27,556 personnel, as approved by the Cabinet, and assured that the process will be conducted fairly and transparently, with further appointments planned across departments, including the Forest Department, news agency ANI reported.

Addressing an event for the distribution of appointment letters to newly recruited police personnel, Adhikari said the government will introduce fair recruitment rules and provide age relaxation in certain cases, considering that recruitment had not taken place over the past few years. Appointment letters were handed over to Sub-Inspectors at the event, two days after newly recruited Cooperative Officers received theirs, he said.

"A tug-of-war was going on between the two pillars of democracy. We have resolved that issue. We will recruit 27,556 personnel, as approved by the Cabinet. We will carry out more recruitments in the coming months. Recruitment will not be limited to the police; departments such as the Forest Department will also see new appointments," the Chief Minister said, according to ANI.

Adhikari said recruitment had been stalled due to complications related to the OBC issue, and that the government amended the OBC rules and withdrew from the case before the Supreme Court, enabling it to complete the process. "We will ensure that no one has to approach the court over recruitment-related issues," he said, adding that fair recruitment rules will be announced.

Police reforms, training and a six-minute 112 target

Pointing to the challenges before the West Bengal Police — a large population, geographical diversity, around 3,500 Gram Panchayats and a Bangladesh border stretching almost 2,200 km — Adhikari said the state had lagged behind on police reforms and that personnel had not received the benefits of the Seventh Pay Commission. He said the government had decided to provide financial security and reform the police system, had signed an MoU with a national university and a police training institute in Assam, and that another MoU would be signed on November 13.

The Chief Minister called for strengthening the 112 emergency response service with additional vehicles, directed the Kolkata Police to assess its requirements, and set a target of a six-minute response time similar to Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. He also announced a meeting with IFS and IPS officers on November 13 and said an SIT had been constituted over the Chorbagan incident during Durga Puja, when around 79,000 idols were immersed.