Several pressure groups have warned the Meghalaya government not to sit on the issue of the appointment of a non-tribal engineer as Director of Distribution in the Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (MPDCL).
The groups (FKJGP, KSU, HNYF and RBYF) are against Chettri’s appointment as there are several more senior, and tribal, engineers who could have been awarded the position, though the MeECL said that they are unqualified.
Refusing to accept this, the NGOs said, “The appointment of Chettri clearly shows that the state government wants to conceal the corrupt practices in the department,” alluding to the serial allegations of corruption emerging from the Power Department and the state-owned utilities on an almost daily basis.
They also alleged that the handing over of 56 substations to the Broadcasting Engineering Consultants India Ltd (BECIL) from Uttar Pradesh without floating a tender and expression of interest (EOI) shows that there are underhand attempts to benefit a few at the expense of the employees and the wider public of Meghalaya.
“We will not remain mere spectators to such activities and we will take strong measures very soon,” the pressure groups warned.