Meghalaya amends Fisheries Service Rules, staff to get equal opportunities

The Meghalaya Cabinet, on August 26, approved an amendment to the Meghalaya Fisheries Service Rules, 2017, removing a clause that disqualified employees with less than five years of service remaining from being considered for promotion.

The provision, which was unique to the Fisheries Department and not applicable in any other department, was described as unfair since it denied long-serving employees their rightful career advancement.

With its removal, the Fisheries Department will now follow the same promotion criteria as other government departments, ensuring uniformity and a fair process for all eligible employees.

Taking to his official X handle, CM Sangma said that the amendment will bring relief to officers nearing the end of their service who were earlier excluded from promotions despite fulfilling all other requirements.

During the day, the Cabinet also approved the subsuming of 708 permanent posts of Border Wing Home Guards (BWHG) into the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), while allowing the recruitment of an equal number of new volunteers to fill the resulting vacancies in the BWHG battalion.

The decision follows a court ruling mandating the government to regularize 708 individuals who were earlier appointed as volunteers.