SHILLONG: Urban affairs minister Ronnie V Lyngdoh has defended the decision of the department to transfer BRM Lyngdoh as town planning officer.
The official who was named by the CBI in connection with MUDA building scam has been appointed as the town planning officer despite the fact that a case against him and others is pending both in the High Court and Supreme Court.
However, Lyngdoh said the official was innocent until proven guilty by the court.
“If we had found something against him, he would have been suspended from his services,” Lyngdoh said, even as he added that if the Court convicts him, the law would take its own course.
According to Lyngdoh, the department was annoyed with the previous town planning officer since he had not issued the permission to construct the Rs 300 crore cancer wing at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) even after a year.
“Imagine, the project which would have had helped thousands of cancer patients was delayed because the previous town planning officer had not issued the permission since one year,” he said.
Lyngdoh added that he came to know about the matter when some officials from the institute approached him over the delay in issuing the permission for the project.
“If we had lost the project because of the delay, who would have suffered and we have not removed the previous officer on our whims and fancies,” Lyngdoh added.
It may be mentioned that a notification issued by the urban affairs department on August 2, had said that BRM Lyngdoh, district urban planner, East Khasi Hills, was transferred and posted in the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority on deputation as town planning officer. He was also allowed to hold dual charge as town planning officer, MUDA Byrnihat, Ri Bhoi.
