Editor
As a retired government employee who has worked with Mr MS Rao even before he became Chief Secretary of Meghalaya I can vouch for his sincerity to promote the State of Meghalaya. And he did that when he was posted at Delhi in the Department of Information Technology as President and CEO National e-Governance Division, Digital India Corporation in 2019. Later Rao supervised the project personally when it was launched in Meghalaya in September 2021. Hence the news that a project that he had personally initiated for Meghalaya is being awarded by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), Geneva, Switzerland and that he was left out of the group that was going to receive the award is shocking. But what is more shocking is that some underlings of the Planning Department who perhaps have no clue what the project is all about were taken as part of the entourage. But this is common for Meghalaya. Jaunts at the expense of the public exchequer are common. Covid had slowed down this philandering the foreign soil a wee bit but now it seems to have started again.
Some of us may not be vocal while in service but we see many things wrong that are happening today. As one from the old school of thought I find this appalling. We would look up to senior officers for their exemplary conduct. But the fact that the Chief Secretary did not consider Rao’s presence important shows the pettiness of it all. Why would any officer want to work with passion and dedication if credit due to them can be snatched away on flimsy grounds? After all, for those who work with honesty, due recognition is the biggest award. Should it not be the responsibility of senior bureaucrats to go out of their way to ensure that the person who envisioned this project is included in the delegation?
The argument that retired people cannot be included in the delegation is absurd. Surprising, what is even more inexcusable is that the senior officers cannot differentiate between an award for the project and an award for the State. Having worked in the government for many years, the logic put forward that retired persons cannot be part of the delegation may apply if the award was for the State. In this case, the award is for a project and anyone deserving should be able to go.
What we can decipher from the news item is that undeserving officers have gone to Geneva, God knows for what. Don’t they feel ashamed squandering public funds in this manner? There should be a thorough inquiry into the whole episode and such officers who had no contribution to the project should be asked to pay back the money to the Government. And if in the inquiry it comes out that actually the former Chief Secretary was the most deserving person the Government should publicly announce and felicitate him for having denied him the honour of receiving the award and action should be taken against those who had no business to go on this foreign jaunt.
Yours etc.,
RL Nongrum,
Via email
Great news for Meghalaya
Editor,
Meghalaya’s very own Ankur Das secured the 52nd rank in the recently declared UPSC exams. After nine long years someone from Meghalaya has cleared the exam? Are we genuinely happy? If not, may I ask why? Why shouldn’t we be happy about it? It’s just been hours since the news went viral that we have someone who cleared the UPSC this time from Meghalaya. Nine years is a long period, and indeed a long wait too. I thought Meghalaya would never be able to see its name again in the UPSC records, but Ankur Das made it a point to prove us wrong. I take this opportunity to thank him because we had lost hope and have regained it. Meghalayans let us join with the others in celebrating Ankur’s tremendous achievement.
Ankur Das may not be from the tribal community of the state, but he definitely is the son of Meghalaya, and we should be happy for his achievement. We should bestow blessings on him. Das’ success is not only his success but a hope he indirectly instils in all of us and in future aspirants of Meghalaya. Let us change our perceptions and encourage our young boys and girls to aim for the stars. If Das can do it, why not others?
The last time Meghalaya had a name in the UPSC records was when the present Deputy Commissioner of East Khasi Hills District, Isawanda Laloo, cleared the CSE in 2013. What happened after that? There was an icy silence from Meghalaya for nine years as it failed to produce its own officers. Nine years later we have another Meghalayan in the UPSC list. It is a moment of celebration, probably not for the entire state but for the Government and UPSC aspirants, including me.
Who says it is a herculean task to get through this examination? I am sure Ankur Das will tell us that when consistency, determination, and hard work become our priorities we can conquer the world.
As to who is happy and who is not, people who have envisioned that someone from the state would clear the examinations are happy. The government and its officers are happy, whereas aspiring candidates are the happiest. A section of the population may not be happy that someone from the indigenous community could not clear the UPSC while Ankur, a non-tribal, could. There will be thousands of questions in the minds of such people. Comments everywhere will be very communal, but it’s best if we turn our deaf ears to them.
Meghalaya doesn’t have enough coaching centres, but I’m looking at the brighter side; we will in the future. Ankur’s success proves that coaching classes can help us but self-study can do wonders. If we persist with hard work, Meghalaya can get at least one if not two UPSC aspirants carrying the trophy but the State has to buck up its coaching centre and make it more dynamic and interactive.
Yours etc.,
Emidao Shylla,
Via email