Civic volunteers and green police barred from poll duties by Election Commission
Telegraph | 13 April 2026
The Election Commission has barred the state government from deploying civic volunteers and green police for election duties, even though many of them operate police vehicles and office systems. Police officers have expressed concern over how essential functions will be managed without these personnel, many of whom are assigned as drivers.
Over 7,300 civic volunteers are currently attached to various units of Kolkata Police.
Sources said at least 230 civic volunteers are engaged as drivers, mostly in police stations in Calcutta, along with around 160 others working as computer operators. These personnel could be considered directly or indirectly linked to election-related work, an officer said.
“It would be difficult to manage if so many drivers attached to police stations need to be changed at this stage. Those who drive police vehicles become accustomed to the lanes and bylanes of their jurisdictions. Any last-minute change may cause difficulty on the ground,” said a senior Kolkata Police officer.
Earlier this month, the EC issued a directive to the state government stating: “No person from Civic Police, Green Police or Student Police shall be engaged in any election related duty. Further, they shall not be allowed to perform any duty in uniform from P-3 days to P+1 day.”
Civic volunteers are often deployed to assist senior officers and handle logistics such as arranging food and water for forces during elections.
This time, they have also been instructed not to wear uniforms while performing any non-election duties from three days before polling and up to a day after.
Sources said Kolkata Police has a sanctioned strength of 7,576 civic volunteers, of whom 7,354 are currently in service. Of these, 2,324 are engaged in the traffic department, while 3,531 are posted across 10 police divisions. The remaining volunteers serve in other units.
Civic volunteers assist in routine policing work, including law and order duties, traffic management, barrack duties of battalions, driving and operating computers.
“We are contemplating options on how to manage this situation,” said an officer at the Kolkata Police headquarters.