“Go, Become BLO Helpers!” — Bhopal Municipal Commissioner Sanskriti Jain Punishes Negligent Engineers with Unusual Assignment

Bhopal: In a remarkable administrative move, IAS officer Sanskriti Jain, Commissioner of Bhopal Municipal Corporation, has introduced a new “culture” of accountability. Taking strict action against negligence, she has assigned 75 assistant and sub-engineers to work as helpers to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) after they failed to provide satisfactory details about their official projects.

Engineers Failed to Explain Their Own Work

During a recent review meeting, Commissioner Jain questioned the engineers about ongoing civil works. Shockingly, most were unable to provide even basic information about their assignments. Annoyed by their lack of preparedness, she issued an unconventional punishment—deploying them to assist BLOs in the ongoing SIR digitisation work, effective until December 4.

The decision has sparked widespread discussion within the civic administration, with many praising the strict stance taken by the 2015 batch IAS officer. Commissioner Jain is currently on an official visit to South Korea.

Deployment at Poorly Performing Booths

According to Deputy District Election Officer Bhuvan Gupta, the engineers have been assigned assembly-wise postings, specifically at booths ranked among the top 20 poorest-performing locations. The officers who struggled to handle their civil engineering responsibilities will now work on improving voter-related SIR tasks at the field level.

From Seoni to Bhopal: A Tough Administrator’s Footprint

Before joining as Bhopal Municipal Commissioner, Sanskriti Jain served as the Collector of Seoni district, known for her disciplined and results-driven administrative style. After taking charge in Bhopal, she reviewed pending civil works but received no satisfactory responses even after 15 days. This prompted her to reassign the engineers as BLO assistants to ensure discipline and accountability.

A Message to Negligent Officials

The Commissioner’s strict move is being seen as a clear message to government staff—negligence will not be tolerated. Assigning engineers to election-related duties is expected to not only enforce discipline but also accelerate SIR digitisation work across key booths in the city.