Former Nagaland chief secretary, Padma Shri AM Gokhale passed away on Sunday due to Covid19.

Gokhale, a 1968 batch IAS officer of Nagaland cadre, served in various capacities in Nagaland till his superannuation in January 2006. The former chief secretary was awarded Padma Shri in 1990 for his work on Village Development Boards and role in forming the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana.

Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio said in his condolence message that, ‘I am deeply grieved at hearing the news of passing away today morning of Padma Shri AM Gokhale, former Chief Secretary of Nagaland. It’s a loss which is not limited to his immediate family members but to all of us in Nagaland’.

‘Gokhale was an exceptional office, an optimist, a true leader, and a thinker par excellence, who during his more than three decades of service in the Indian Administrative Service brought about revolutionary changes’, later he added.

In Nagaland, he developed the concept of the Village Development Board which decentralised development to the village level, much before the Panchayati Raj institutions were brought in the rest of the country.

The people of the entire state shall continue to fondly remember the passionate manner in which he executed and put in place the necessary foundation to ensure its success and sustainability.

Building on the strengths and traditions of the people of Nagaland and merging it with his passion for conserving environment, he established Nagaland Environment Protection and Economic Development through People’s Act (NEPED), building a motivated and dedicated team from scratch, which for the first time also brought in financing from external agencies to Nagaland.

Gokhale always did what was in the best of interests for the people of the state, and he will always remain in the hearts of people of Nagaland, later CM Rio said.