SHILLONG, Dec 8: The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers from Meghalaya, under the banner of Meghalaya IAS Officers’ Association, have condemned the allegations levelled by national spokesperson of Trinamool Congress (TMC) Saket Gokhale against the Commissioner and Secretary of Planning department Dr. Vijay Kumar D and have dubbed the charges as “false and malicious”.
According to a statement, an executive committee meeting was held on Wednesday, in the wake of the allegations against Vijay Kumar, who is also the Chief Managing Director (CMD) of the Meghalayan Age Limited.
Taking strong exception to the allegations by Gokhale, the Association, in a statement, said, “The allegations are false and malicious with an intention to mislead the public. The Meghalaya IAS Officers’ Association stands by Dr. Vijay Kumar D, Commissioner and Secretary, Planning Department and CMD of the Meghalayan Age Limited and all the officials concerned who have been named in the press release, with the intention to tarnish their image.”
It may be mentioned that Gokhale had accused Vijay Kumar of misusing Rs 632 crore in the implementation of the Meghalaya Ecotourism Infrastructure Development Project (MEIDP).
Maintaining that the Meghalayan Age Limited has already issued a clarificatory press release, refuting the allegations, the Association said “As clarified by Dr. Vijay Kumar, the due process of law including tendering processes and prior approvals of the New Development Bank (NDB) that is funding the project have been followed in the implementation of the Meghalaya Eco Tourism Infrastructure Development Project.”
Arguing that such allegations tarnish the image of Meghalaya, it said, “The Association wishes to reiterate that the job of any civil servant is to carry out the mandate and the developmental agenda of a democratically elected government, in accordance with the provision of the Constitution of India and the law of the land. Any attempt to make false allegations against government officials, including IAS officers, and to drag their names with a political motive, which does not serve the public interest, is condemnable.”
