Raman cancels award to Sonmani Borah

     Raipur, November 1, 2009: Taking a strong decision, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh today rejected giving any award to Bilaspur District Collector Sonmani Borah and Director Ayurveda Dr J S Badesha on the state Foundation day today.

     Borah, a 1999 batch IAS, was yesterday selected for the Saheed Veer Narayan Singh Award for his outstanding work for the welfare of the tribals where as Dr Badesha was selected for Dhanwantari Award for his outstanding service in promoting Ayurveda.

     Although Culture Minister Brij Mohan Agrawal had announced the name of Borah yesterday, the name of Dr Badesha was yet to be announced by the state government.

     Immediately, after arrival from South Africa, Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh expressed his surprise over the choice of both the names and called the officials, who were responsible for finalising the names, officials told ChhattisgarhTopNews.Com.

     When asked, the Chief Minister also said “it is wrong to give any award to the officials. The Chief Secretary, Secretaries and the Collectors or other officials are posted here to do their job. It is always welcomed if someone is doing a good work. But that does not mean they will be selected for some award.

     “These awards are for the people and we don’t want such a tradition here in which the officials will be given the awards,” said the Chief Minister.

     Chief Secretary P Joy Oommen also told ChhattisgarhTopNews.Com that the government had refused to approve the name of Borah and Badesha as they are government employees, who are here to work for the people.

      Borah was in Raipur today to receive the honour from the state Governor ESL Narasimhan when it was decided not to give him the award, officials said.