Archives' duo misled to forego promotion opportunity
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, September 08 2022: A senior officer of the Manipur State Archives allegedly manipulated the service rules and regulations to prevent promotion of some staff in order to appoint another individual close to him.

Source said that there are two record attendants grade-II in the state archives namely Ningombam Chitra and Th Nilabati.

Between the two, Chitra is senior to Nilabati.

In August 2021, the then deputy director Md Abdul Kalam showed a service RR to the two and told them that they are not eligible for promotion as per recruitment rules while asking them to sign a statement forgoing claim for the promotion.

However, they found the recruitment rules shown by the then deputy director were forged/manipulated.

As per recruitment rules issued by deputy secretary (DP) H Gyan Prakash on November 10, 2000, an employee in the record attendant grade II post of Manipur State Archives can be promoted to grade I after completion of five years of regular service.

N Chitra joined the department to the post of conservator as a casual staff in 1990.Her service was regularised in April 2014 and since then, she has been holding the post of record attendant Grade II .

She has already completed five years of regular service, and a post of record attendant grade-I is lying vacant following the promotion of an officer to the post of deputy director.

Former deputy director Md Abdul Kalam attained superannuation in 2021 and he is now working as OSD in the state archives on re-engagement.

Just before his retirement, on August 11, 2021, he wrote a letter to the director of art and culture requesting appointment of one Salma Sultana to a suitable post in the state archives.

The timing coincides with the approach of the then deputy director to Chitra and Nilabati to take their signatures on the statement forgoing their desire for getting promotion.

Suspicious over the findings, they enquired about the matter and found that the then deputy director forged/manipulated the recruitment rules to cheat them.

In the letter to the director, Md Abdul Kalam also mentioned that the posts held by Chitra and Nilabati were feeder posts of record attendant grade-III and they are not eligible to get promotion since they do not have requisite qualification.

Besides, they are nearing superannuation and have no desire to undergo mandatory training for promotion, the letter said, while enclosing the duo's certificates.

Meanwhile, the source said that N Chitra has all the requisite qualification to get promotion to the post of record attendant grade-I and had also completed trainings on 'Care and Conservation of Books, Manuscripts and Archives' conducted by School of Archives Studies, New Delhi under National Archives of India in 1991, and 'Record Management, Conservation and Microfilming/ Digitisation' in 2007 conducted by National Archives of India.

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