East Khasi Hills legislators want local senior DC
By Our Reporter
Shillong: A controversy has erupted over the appointment of West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Sanjay Goyal as the new Deputy Commissioner (DC) of East Khasi Hills district in place of Jopthiaw Lyngdoh.
It has been informed that majority of the MLAs from East Khasi Hills are not happy with the decision of Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma to appoint Goyal as the DC.
The MLAs have indicated that want a local senior bureaucrat from the State cadre to be appointed as the new DC in view of the fact that the 2013 Assembly elections were round the corner.
“We want a local senior bureaucrat to be appointed as the East Khasi Hills DC since he would understand the ground reality better. Appointing a local DC is all the more important now that the Assembly election is nearing,” an MLA from East Khasi Hills, on condition of anonymity, said.
He further said that an officer who does not originally hail from the State would have difficulty in handle the situation since he would need added time to familiarize with the ground reality of this area.
Besides, there would is the possibility of a communication gap due to the language barrier, the legislator added.
He also informed that a delegation of the MLAs from East Khasi Hills had recently met Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma and urged for appointment of a local officer as the DC.
The MLA also informed that the Chief Minister rejected the plea while stating that Goyal should be allowed to assume office as the DC.
Dr Sangma had, also indicated that if Goyal’s performance is not found to be satisfactory then he would be replaced, the legislator added.
It is learnt that the MLAs had proposed the name of Meghalaya State Warehousing Corporation Managing Director, Frederick Roy Kharkongor, for appointment as the new DC of East Khasi Hills.