"Mizoram should complete its commitment," CS Kumar Sanjay Krishna on last day of duty, adds "Pandemic hit like a war"

Yesterday the governor of Assam through a letter notified that Jishnu Barua, IAS (RR-1988), Additional Chief Secretary to the Govt. of Assam, Home, Political, Revenue & DM, Secretariat Administration (Archives), Border Protection and Development, Implementation of Assam Accord and Passport Departments has been appointed as Chief Secretary to the Govt. of Assam.

The appointment will be effective from the date of taking over charge vice Kumar Sanjay Krishna, IAS (RR-1985) retiring on superannuation on 31-10-2020.

Before taking charge, as the chief secretary of Assam in December 2019, Krishna has served in the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Finance, and Agriculture in Delhi. He was also the Director, Tea Board in New York. In Assam, he was the deputy commissioner of Karmurp and Sonitpur before becoming the additional chief secretary.

Just three months into his tenure and the country was hit by a pandemic. When asked about the experience of serving as the chief secretary during the COVID19 induced disruption, Krishna replies, “It was challenging.”

He explains, “Nobody knew what to do. We were not taught in any of our training, how to tackle, how to take care of a situation like this. Pandemic is like a war-like situation. We worked very hard for the seven months to ensure that people get the best of everything.”

Assam’s way of handling the pandemic situation, especially when it comes to involving common people in decision making was appreciated nationally. Often the Chief Secretary himself asked for suggestions on microblogging platform Twitter and other social media platforms. “The idea was to ensure that people do not suffer,” he says. “I am happy that we could contribute to the best of our abilities and the best of my abilities,” adds Krishna.

If the invisible virus was creating a war-like situation, the neighbours were not making it easier for Kumar Sanjay Krishna either. First, the Meghalaya government disrupted the supply of essential commodities in the Barak Valley by installing roadblocks. The chief secretary and in fact, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal had to intervene.

(Also Read: Exclusive interview with Kumar Sanjay Krishna Click Here)

Lately, Assam and Mizoram have got into an interstate-border dispute. “We have taken the matter up to the Home Ministry. Two things were decided in the Commissioner-level meeting where Joint Secretary – Northeast (Satyendra Garg) was also present- withdrawal of Mizo forces and passage of essential commodities. We are ensuring the passage of essential commodities but I have requested to the Chief and Home Secretary – Mizoram, that Mizoram should complete its commitment. They have agreed to withdraw forces in that meeting but on the ground that it not happening,” asserts Kumar Sanjay Krishna.

Corruption in the recruitment process also emerged as a challenge for Kumar Sanjay Krishna. Most recently, a scam brought the Police recruitment in Assam to a standstill. Dealing with this will need some reform believes the retiring Chief Secretary. “In some of the states, we have the State Subordinate Services Commission. Probably, in Assam also we need such a selection board like Assam Public Service Commission. APSC is for gazetted services but I feel we need a selection board for non-gazetted services. Once there is a system in place, I think it will help,” concluded Kumar Sanjay Krishna while speaking with Barak Bulletin on his last day as the Chief Secretary to the government of Assam.