SHILLONG: Additional Chief Secretary Hector Marwein on Monday apprised Chief Secretary PS Thangkhiew that he has been superseded by his next junior IAS officer MS Rao for the post of chief secretary.
Though the chief secretary will retire on December 31, the Personnel department on Monday issued a notification appointing Rao as chief secretary with effect from the date of superannuation of Thangkhiew.
Rao, a 1987 batch of IAS officer, is currently the chairman, board of revenue and additional chief secretary in- charge of revenue and disaster management department.
Marwein belongs to the 1985 batch of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
Rao will continue to function as chairman, board of revenue.
Marwein said in his letter to Thangkhiew that he has served for 34 years in various capacities in the state government and added that it is distressing that he has been superseded without any valid reason after serving the state for so many years.
According to Marwein, he has only about 8 months to serve in the government.
He said, “It is understood that a lot of baseless rumours about the personal behaviour of the undersigned (Marwein) has been circulated so as to undermine his rightful claim to the post of chief secretary”.
Marwein observed that the supersession will set an unhealthy precedent in the state as it will allow for unhealthy competitions among officers for securing the highest post in the government administrative machinery in future.
He pointed out that the post of chief secretary in the state has always been given to the senior most IAS officer serving in the state and therefore he feels that he has been wrongfully denied of the post at the fag-end of his administrative career.
In this connection, he has requested the state government to reconsider the matter so that he may rightfully be given the post of chief secretary to which he is entitled to as per seniority and past precedent in the state.
