By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The Cabinet is in the dark on the decision taken by the Sports and Youth Affairs Dept to extend the service of State Sports Council (SSC) Chief Engineer W Kharmalki.
“The decision to extend the service of Kharmalki was not approved by the Cabinet. This decision was taken at some other levels,” Chief Secretary WMS Pariat told reporters recently.
According to Pariat, as per the rule, the Government is authorized to extend the service of any officer if it felt necessary while also maintaining that there are certain mandatory procedures which have to be followed.
“The proposal for extending the service of any officer would first have to be examined by Personnel, Finance and Planning departments. Only after the matter is examined by the concerned departments is the matter tabled before the Cabinet for its final approval,” the Chief Secretary said.
In the case of Kharmalki’s extension all the mandatory procedures were not followed, Mr Pariat said.
Earlier, the Government had decided to extend the service of Kharmalki for two years.
But after strong opposition from various quarters including NGOs, the Government was compelled to reduce the extension of Kharmalki’s service to one year.
NGOs meet Lanong : Determined to oppose the government’s move to extend the service of Kharmalki by one year, the KSU and FKJGP have demanded the revocation of the order even while they agreed to give some time to the government to discuss he matter following a request from the Deputy Chief Minister, who also holds sports portfolio, BM Lanong. The leaders of the two prominent NGOs, who met Lanong at his residence on Saturday, have demanded that the Government should revoke the extension order and expressed their disagreement with the government’s move to extend Kharmalki’s service only for a year and not two as decided earlier. “On meeting Lanong, besides expressing our opinion on this matter, we have discussed the matter at length. Mr Lanong has sought some time to look into the matter and to inform us about the government’s next move”, KSU general secretary Auguster Jyrwa said. “We will not accept the Government’s decision, whether it’s one year or one month” Jyrwa said adding that they will continue to protest the government’s decision to extend the services of a retired official.