Arunkumar Kembhavi, the incumbent Chairman and Managing Director of the financially struggling Meghalaya Energy Corporation Ltd (MeECL) will be replaced by the Additional Chief Secretary, Rebecca Suchiang, it was informed today.
“We have already passed orders on Friday that the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), R Suchiang, will be taking over as CMD of MeECL,” Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said.
The official notification of this will be published tomorrow.
Kembhavi was widely celebrated in his role as Deputy Commissioner of West Khasi Hills but found himself largely unloved and unappreciated as CMD of the state-owned power utility, at least by some corporation staff, who were vocal in their displeasure about MeECL plans, schemes and actions under his watch.
Sangma cautioned that Suchiang’s appointment will not immediately show results because the company’s problems run deep.
He repeated a common charge of his government, that the Rs 800 crore of benefits promised to employees by the previous Congress-led government were never paid, which forced the MeECL to bear the brunt itself.
The CM also said that whereas other North East states have debts to power generating companies around Rs 100 crore, MeECL is saddled with Rs 1,300 crore in debts.
