Bengal CEO office to shift to SCI building on Strand Rd in a week
Times of India | 25 January 2026
Kolkata: The office of the Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) is likely to be shifted from the Balmer Lawrie premises on Netaji Subhas Bose Road to the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) building on Strand Road, about half a kilometre away, within a week, EC officials said in Kolkata.
Interior work was in progress on the two floors that the EC was taking on rent at SCI, and the shift was being expedited due to a major space crunch at the Balmer Lawrie building, which created problems in accommodating observers, micro-observers and other officials.
"We will shift as soon as the office at the new premises is ready,"said Bengal CEO Manoj Agwarwal. Officials said electrical wiring work was underway on the floors and restrooms were also being renovated. An official said the shifting would take place in phases. "People will move in first. Files and other documents will be gradually shifted so that they do not get lost in transit," an official said.
The EC had proposed shifting the CEO's office to a new, more spacious address in the city almost six months ago.
Keeping in view administrative necessity, space constraints and security issues, and considering the exigency ahead of the Bengal assembly polls, the EC approved the shift to the rented SCI building to occupy the second and third floors on 13 Strand Road, an official said. Deputy election commissioner Gyanesh Bharti had already visited the SCI office and had been briefed about the sitting zones.
The two floors of the SCI building has around 18,000 sq ft. The rent for the property is likely to be around Rs 16 lakh a month, or a little less than Rs 2 crore annually. Sources said the rent for the Balmer Lawrie office at 21 NS Road was similar.
The CEO's office remained busy since Nov when the SIR process began. Many politicians visited the current office in the congested BBD area where parking was a major hassle. Parking facility was the reason the SCI building was preferred over Telephone Bhawan in BBD Bag, which was also in the reckoning. During previous elections, the CEO's office used to lease an additional floor of the Balmer Lawrie building.