Guwahati: Newly appointed NRC State Coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma, who is embroiled in a row over his alleged social media posts criticising the updation work of the National Register of Citizens, has not joined office, official sources said on Tuesday.
Sarma, an Assam Civil Service officer, was appointed on November 9 as the NRC state coordinator in place of Prateek Hajela who was released from his duties two days later.
The office of the NRC authority is headless for more than a week. “The new state coordinator has not joined yet. We have not received any official communication regarding his date of joining,” an official at the NRC authority told PTI.
Sources said Sarma has not stepped into the office of the NRC Authority here after his new appointment. He had earlier served as its executive director from 2013 to 2016. “We are clueless about when he will join. We have come to know from media reports that he is on a month-long leave,” the official said.
Repeated calls to the Commissioner of the Personnel Department which is responsible for appointments of government officials, remained unanswered.
At present, NRC Authority Executive Director Chandana Mahanta is the in-charge of the NRC authority and looking after the day-to-day affairs since Hajela, the previous state coordinator, was released. (PTI)
