Nandini Chakraborty became the first woman chief secretary of West Bengal on Wednesday after her appointment was cleared by Governor CV Ananda Bose.Sources said she superseded eight senior IAS officers to become the chief secretary.The appointment of Chakraborty, a 1994 batch IAS officer, as chief secretary by the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government comes months ahead of the Assembly election in the state.The incumbent Home Secretary took charge from outgoing chief secretary Manoj Pant, who was on extension that ended on Wednesday.Pant, a 1991 batch IAS officer, had retired on June 30 but was granted a six-month extension from July 1 to December 31.Pant, on the other hand, has been appointed Principal Secretary to Chief Minister with the rank of chief secretary.A 2004 batch IAS officer, Jagdish Prasad Meena, has replaced Nandini Chakraborty as Home Secretary. Meena was Secretary, Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department.Story continues below this ad“Nandini Chakraborty is a 1994 batch IAS officer, and she superseded eight senior IAS officers to become the first woman chief secretary of West Bengal. Her appointment will give the TMC government an upper hand in dealing with the Election Commission during the Assembly polls, due in a few months,” said a senior officer at Nabanna, the state secretariat.According to sources, Chakraborty was very close to the previous Left Front regime and headed the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) during the 2007-2008 land acquisition agitation in Singur and Nandigram that was led by Mamata Banerjee.After the TMC came to power in 2011 and Mamata Banerjee became the chief minister, Nandini Chakraborty continued to remain as the WBIDC chief. She was also given the additional charge of the Information and Culture Department.Additional Chief Secretary Atri Bhattacharya, a 1989 batch IAS officer, has been given additional charge of Director General, Netaji Subhas Administrative Training Institute, besides his current charge of Sundarban Affairs Department.Story continues below this adAdditional Chief Secretary Barun Kumar Roy, who heads the Non-Conventional & Renewable Energy Sources Department, has been given the additional charge of the Tourism Department, held by Nandini Chakraborty earlier.Principal Secretary (Public Health Engineering Department) Surendra Gupta has been given the additional charge of divisional commissioner of the Presidency Division.North Bengal Development Department’s Additional Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala has also been assigned he charge of Principal Secretary, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), along with the Correctional Administration Department.