Power Minister James Sangma has rejected any suggestion that the appointment of the Director of Distribution in the Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (MPDCL) was done without due process.
The appointment of MK Chettri as Director despite there being several other chief engineers more senior to him annoyed several quarters.
In a statement issued today, the opposition Congress, through spokesperson and MLA Zenith Sangma, said that Chettri was appointed by superseding half a dozen senior local engineers.
“I have time and again pointed out that the present Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and Power Minister James Sangma are fond of appointing junior officers to occupy high posts in the MeECL. This is nothing but to enable them to fulfill their greed,” Zenith said.
Stating that the post fell vacant on September 1 last year, Zenith said the government was sleeping for the last seven months as he added that this type of promotion creates nepotism, hatred and bad blood amongst the colleagues.
However, James said today that some officials, despite being more senior, were not qualified because the post in question is meant for an engineer with an electrical background.
“Some of the officers are from a civil background, while some of the officers have not qualified because there are certain cases pending against them,” the Power Minister said.
According to him, therefore the question of supersession does not arise.
“There is a panel and accordingly it selects the concerned officer,” he added.
The Congress leader further alleged that the Power Minister is busy trying to shield himself from the barrage of enquiries regarding the Saubhagya scheme, power purchase agreements, load shedding and undue advantages to Byrnihat Industries Association.
