Bengal chief secretary H.K. Dwivedi on Tuesday asked district authorities to initiate proper steps to ensure that the process of the formation of boards at 108 municipalities, where elections had been held recently, was held peacefully.

The directive comes in the wake of the murder of two councillors at Panihati in North 24-Parganas and Jhalda in Purulia on Sunday.

During a video conference with the district authorities, sources said, Dwivedi suggested steps like strengthening of the intelligence network, preventive arrests and deployment of police in sensitive areas to avert any kind of trouble over the formation of the civic boards.

“The chief secretary asked the authorities in the districts to identify sensitive civic bodies, where trouble over the formation of boards is likely, and keep a close watch until the process is completed peacefully,” said a source who attended the video conference.

Dwivedi’s directive to the district magistrates and the superintendents of police comes amid the Opposition’s allegation that law and order has deteriorated in Bengal.

“The Opposition has been trying to malign the government by raising law and order issues after the Assembly polls last year. Murders of councillors would encourage the BJP to attack the state government. That is why the state government is very serious about handling such incidents strictly,” said a source.

The murders of the councillors have also made the Trinamul Congress take precautions before the formation of the boards.

“Almost all civic bodies were won by the ruling party without facing much fight. But the formation of the boards has become a challenge as there are a number of aspirants for the posts of chairman. So, the party has decided to initiate cautious steps to ensure that the formation of the boards doesn’t result in infighting,” said a Trinamul insider.

Trinamul has decided to send the names of the prospective chairpersons to the party’s district leadership concerned first.

“The district leadership would hold meetings with councillors and announce the name of the chairperson. It is expected that grievances of other councillors, if any, could be handled in a better way,” said a Trinamul leader.

On Tuesday, the Trinamul leadership sent the names of the office-bearers of at least 20 civic bodies to the districts concerned. The names, sources said, would be sent in phases, instead of announcing those from Calcutta.