The Meghalaya Police finds itself in a precarious situation with the prospect of an acting DGP being appointed in the state soon. The reason is simple: the state government is yet to initiate the process of appointing a regular DGP, while the tenure of current incumbent and the state’s first woman DGP, Idashisha Nongrang (IPS:1992:AM), is ending on November 19.
According to sources, the state govt has not yet sent its panel of eligible IPS officers to the UPSC for empanelment despite being repeatedly reminded to submit the same. Now, the natural question being asked in the bureaucratic circles is if the selection process can be completed in such a short time, or is the state headed towards having an acting DGP?
What is intriguing is that it is happening despite the Supreme Court’s tough stand on the practice of appointing acting DGPs by several states and asking the UPSC to initiate contempt proceedings against the states that fail to send a proposal for the DGP empanelment three months before the vacancy arises.
As per Supreme Court’s directives, Nongrang took over as the regular DGP for a two-year term on May 20, 2024, following the retirement of LR Bishnoi (IPS:1991:AM) from the post. Her term was to end on May 19, 2026, but she was granted a six-month service extension, extending her tenure until November 19, 2026.
As per the apex court’s rulings, the UPSC had asked the state govt to start the process by sending the proposal to it on May 14 itself, followed by a reminder on August 5. After getting no response from the state govt, the commission sent a second reminder on September 24. But to no avail, and the UPSC’s wait is still on, while the Meghalaya govt still appears to be gloating over it.
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