Silence of the Lamb?

By Govinda Raju

Cherring Targey was always available to the press even though he had made it a point to speak very little. The first encounter of LoA was in April, 2007 immediately after the controversial reshuffle order was issued. He had vaguely tried to defend it as an experiment to speed up the decision taking process. Little did he or the others know that it would push the administration into a bottomless pit!

Pointing towards the Roll of Honour the editor had told him that no chief secretary in the last 15 years had a full term except RD Kapoor and Ramesh Narayanaswamy. As Targey himself had just 16 months, it was natural that he would leave after six months to prepare for his retirement. The question put to him was: how could there be any development under such circumstances? "Don't worry, I'll go on retirement from here only" He kept his word, though almost dislodged, and superannuated from A&N Administration on July 31, 2008 after rendering 34 years in elite civil service of the country.

He had opted for the posting in order to spend the last days of his career in peace in the serene atmosphere of exotic Islands in the sea. But the experience was nothing less than a nightmare.

Immediately after landing here Cherring Targey fell victim to the machinations of the coterie then in control of the administration. A constant and consistent attempt continued to dent the authority of the chief secretary and reinforce the prevalent atmosphere of mistrust. The chief secretary was sought to be isolated, his decisions were overturned at the back of the administrator, perhaps. It was alleged that GC Joshi-KS Singh combine orchestrated the move against the chief secretary for their personal gains. But the trend continued even after their departure.

He had a turbulent time full of pressure, tension and mental agony. But he showed tremendous resilience and continued to discharge his duties without any complaint. The position he was holding in the islands made it difficult for him to share his woes with anyone. A quintessential hills-man that he was, he took everything in his stride cheerfully.

Records and documents will tell posterity that in spite of the unenviable position he was in, he did his best to protect the long term interests of the islanders. That such attempts did not bear fruit is a different matter.

He was gracious enough to agree for an exclusive interview after his superannuation. On Saturday, August 02 he was slightly indisposed with cold. However, he was forthcoming almost on every subject with remarkable candour. His replies were calibrated, forthright and frank. He neither tried to evade any issue nor accuse anyone. There was no bitterness, rancour or spite – just a shade of melancholy here and there, maybe.