SHILLONG: Former chairman of Administrative Reforms, Meghalaya, Lt. Dilip Singh died following a brief illness at his residence at Lachumiere here on Tuesday. He was 83.
Lt. Singh who belonged to Sheila village of Khasi Hills bordering Bangladesh, had joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1961.
A student with an impressive academic background, Lt. Singh’s life has been a journey from the humble beginnings in Sheila to accomplishing a distinguished civil service career.
Singh is survived by his wife, Theilin Phanbhuh who is the chairperson of the Meghalaya State Commission for Women, and six children.
His funeral will be held at Lum Jingthang in Jaiaw (Seng Khasi cremation ground) at 1pm on Thursday. Having completed training at the National Academy of Administration, Singh’s first posting was an Assistant Commissioner in Nagaon (then Nowgong), Assam. Soon after he began his civil service career in Assam, he was completely immersed in issues of civil administration, and with the Chinese aggression in his district and Tezpur.
Singh remained in Nowgong district until 1964 as Assistant Commissioner. In the same year he was posted as Sub Divisional Officer(SDO), to Haflong in North Cachar Hills District. He was transferred to Shillong, the state capital in December of 1965 as Deputy Secretary of Transport, where he remained in the post till 1966. A year later, he was given the post of Joint Secretary of Tribal Areas and Welfare of the Backward Classes in Shillong, and part of his responsibilities was to oversee air droppings of food and essential items in Mizoram during the Mizoram uprising.
A year later, he became the Secretary of the Assam State Electricity Board and was transferred again as Director of Social Welfare and Director of Evaluation and Joint Secretary Planning, Government of Assam until 1970, following which he was promoted to Secretary Relief Rehabilitation and Secretary of Fisheries Department, with the Government of Assam, and also as Inspector General of Prisons.”
After his transfer from Nowgong, and holding various positions, Singh’s appointment as Inspector General of Prisons led him to inspect prisons in Assam.
