Editor,
On the March 1, 2021 a workshop was organised by the Government of Meghalaya at the Convention Centre Shillong. The theme of the workshop was Urban Mobility for Shillong city. Taking into consideration the increasing difficulty in commuting in our city; the traffic snarls that seem to multiply with each passing day and the road accidents that seem to occur with such frequency, the subject under discussion was of immense interest to everyone concerned. No wonder reports indicate that the workshop was well attended by people who really matter in Shillong society. It was also to be noted that presentations on proposals for improving Shillong mobility was made by Dalberg, a reputed consultancy firm and obviously the firm must have been paid by the Departments that contracted its services. The workshop was inaugurated by the Dy CM, Prestone Tynsong.
The next day, March 2, Whatsapp posts began circulating with insinuations that perhaps all was not what it appeared to be as far as the relations between the consultancy firm and the Govt were concerned. On digging into the matter, it turns out that one Ms Priti Rao is (present tense) a senior adviser of Dalberg, North East chapter, Shillong. Dalberg consultancy was engaged for the job by two departments of the state Government, namely by the Meghalaya Infrastructure Development & Finance Corporation Ltd (MIDFC) and Meghalaya Integrated Transport Project (MITC). An IAS officer Vijay Kumar, is both the CEO of MIDFC and Project Director for MITP. Of interest to note is Vijay Kumar is also the husband of Ms Priti Rao the senior adviser to Dalberg. It will be too much of a coincidence to expect that the husband did not know that his wife’s consultancy firm had been contracted by departments under him for this multi-crore World Bank Project.
But this exactly is what the public of Shillong was expected to believe. This public is mainly composed of gullible tribals who would never connect the dots and grasp the blatant conflict of interest that the Workshop exposed. The gullible Dy CM was one such tribal who was became the sacrificial goat and bovine like he innocently gave his blessings to this scam -infested workshop. The invited participants enthusiastically participated in the workshop programme little realising that their participation was totally averse to the ethics and code of conduct sworn by All India Service Officers on their induction to the services. Needless to mention the askance with which the World Bank will view this whole episode and one should not be surprised if it will result in withdrawal of the sanctioned fund as it is against World Bank code of ethics. A serious conflict of interest happened and a scam has occurred. In conclusion it would be advisable for all sane and upright persons to disassociate themselves from this rip-off of World Bank funds.
Yours etc.,
Banteinam Nongrum,
Via email
Income tax reimbursement
Editor,
I was shocked beyond belief to read the news item appearing in Shillong Times dated February 27, 2021 regarding the decision of the Meghalaya Cabinet to reimburse 95 per cent income tax paid by non-tribal officials of All India Services (AIS) working in the state and 25 percent of tribal officials working outside the state. This is sheer madness and such decision can only be taken by persons who have lost all sense of sanity. While demands are mounting from various quarters of the State Government to clear their outstanding dues and one demonstration after another is the order of the day and Ministers and officials rush to Delhi with begging bowl at the drop of a hat, yet the cabinet finds it fit and amongst its priorities to appease a select group for god knows what reasons. And to top it all, the spokesperson says, “We are the first state to do it.” He calls it an incentive! I ask, isn’t salary incentive enough.
The AIS officers are amongst the highest paid officials of the country enjoying the best salary and perks and on top of that, State Government is providing some of the best facilities to these officers, forget the free housing plots in New Shillong. With the salary and perks they are getting, these officers should be putting in 12 hours a day instead of the 7-8 hours put in now and that too for 6 days of the week. No other incentives are called for. In fact if the AIS officers in Meghalaya had been so hard working and efficient, Meghalaya wouldn’t be one of the least performing States which is reflected in every report of Government of India. In such a scenario the decision of Meghalaya Government to reimburse their income tax is nothing short of ludicrous. In fact, in this time of worldwide calamity and economic distress, the AIS officials should have by themselves come forward to contribute to the corpus of the nation to meet the exigency. Instead they have maneuvered the gullible members of the Meghalaya Cabinet to reward them more. While payment of income tax is a mandatory requirement of every earning Indian and all Indians are proud to pay tax for the development of the nation, it seems the All AIS officers of Meghalaya do not belong to that category of Indians.
Alternatively, why should Government of Meghalaya not reimburse the income tax paid by all other category of employees working in the State Government? All in all it seems that this decision of Meghalaya Cabinet is a crude joke on the citizens of this poor State.
Yours etc.,
B Dutta,
Shillong-1
Controversy on MCS examination
Editor,
The controversy surrounding the MCS examination has raised serious questions about the functioning of the Meghalaya Public Service Commission. The aggrieved candidates have valid reasons to feel hard done by how the preliminary examination was conducted. I applied for the MCS but I chose not to appear for the examination since I felt at that time that my preparation for the general studies paper was not up to the mark. Had I known that the marks of paper 2 would be counted, I would have sat the examination since I had cleared the prelims of the Civil Service Examination in 2011 when both the marks of paper 1 and paper 2 were counted. My prior experiences would have put me in good stead and there was a good chance of me clearing the examination.
The Hon’ble High Court has given a decision in favour of the Commission. What if I decided to go to Court as an aggrieved candidate who chose not to appear for the examination since in the notification it was clearly mentioned that only the marks of paper 1 would be counted and what if the High court gave a ruling in my favour? There are more reasons for me to feel aggrieved since when the last notification for the examination came out I was still in college and I could not apply. Whatever the reasons might be that prompted the Commission to violate the examination rules it set in the notification, it does raise serious doubts about the transparency of the Commission especially when it comes to the Meghalaya Civil Service Examination. The examination has always been shrouded in controversy. It’s high time that the State Government fixes everything that is wrong with the Commission. It also needs to redress the lacunae that is hindering the smooth functioning of the Commission. Our state will turn 50 next year and transforming the Commission will show the youth that our leaders are serious about taking the State forward.
Yours etc.,
Gary Marbaniang,
Via email