Shillong, Dec 23: Additional chief secretary, MS Rao has been appointed as the new chief secretary of Meghalaya.

Rao, a 1987 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, will succeed Parmarsan S Thangkhiew, who will retire on December 31.

A notification in this regard was issued by joint secretary in-charge Personnel & AR (A) department, government of Meghalaya on Monday.

“MS Rao, IAS (RR:1987), Chairman, Board of Revenue and Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya, Revenue & Disaster Management Department, is posted as Chief Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya with effect from the date of superannuation of PS Thangkhiew, IAS (1984), chief secretary to the Government of Meghalaya on December 31, 2019,” the notification said.

“On assumption of charge as chief secretary to the government of Meghalaya, MS Rao shall also function as State Vigilance Commissioner, Meghalaya and continue to function as Chairman, Board of Revenue,” it said.

However, Rao’s appointment was seen as superseding the right of senior IAS officer, Hector Marweiñ, being the senior IAS officer, to the post of chief secretary.

In a petition to Thangkhiew, Marweiñ while referring to the government notification said, Rao from the 1987 batch has been posted as the chief secretary superseding him as he belongs to the 1985 batch IAS of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

Marweiñ said, he has served for 34 years in various capacities in the state government without any blemish in his administrative record.

“It is therefore distressing that the undersigned has been superseded without any valid reason to the post of chief secretary after serving the state for so many years with integrity and honesty.

The undersigned has upheld the highest standard of moral and ethical behavior during his 34 years in the service and now has only about 8 months to serve in the government,” he said.

He also alleged that a lot of baseless rumours about his personal behavior has been circulated so as to undermine his rightful claim to the post of chief secretary.

Stating that this supersession has set an unhealthy precedent in the state, Marweiñ said it will allow for unhealthy competition among officers for securing this highest post in the government administrative machinery in future.

According to him, the post of chief secretary in this state has always been given to the senior most IAS officer serving in the state.

The senior IAS officer said he feels that he has been wrongfully denied of this post in the fag-end of his administrative career.

“I would therefore request the government to kindly reconsider this matter so that I may rightfully be given the post of chief secretary to which the undersigned is entitled to as per seniority and past precedent in the state,” Marweiñ stated in the petition.