GUWAHATI: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has reiterated the state government’s demand for a separate IAS, IPS and IFS cadre for Arunachal Pradesh stating that this will expedite the pace of development in the state.
Speaking during the State BJP’s Executive Committee meeting here at Jollang, Chief Minister said due to absence of separate civil service cadre for Arunachal, the efficiency of state bureaucracy has been severely affected.
He said civil service officers posted from Delhi come to Arunachal for short duration. “By the time the officer has understood the nitty gritty of the system here, he is transferred elsewhere taking with him wealth of knowledge causing huge institutional memory loss,”Khandu said.
Such continuous drain of knowledge keeps the pace of work slow and hindered, said the Chief Minister adding that such hindrances in higher bureaucracy makes the officers at the directorate level to work according to their own whims and fancies without any sense of ownership and responsibilities.
Calling for such ineffective working culture to be destroyed forever, Chief Minister said if Arunachal gets its own separate civil service cadre, then sense of ownership and responsibility will prevail and also the institutional knowledge.
A resolution for separate civil service cadre for Arunachal was moved by Chief Minister, which was unanimously supported by all members present during the meeting.
Further sending a strong message to non-performing officers at the senior bureaucracy level, Chief Minister declared that he would not hesitate to invoke the provisions of 56J of the Central Service Rules. “Officers failing to perform will be made to take compulsory retirement or even terminated. This is to send message across and whip up efficiency level in the bureaucracy,” said the Chief Minister.
Chief Minister also declared that there was no commission system in works department, wherein huge percentage as commission used to be deducted by the department for release of payments to the contractors. Calling to spread the message that such deduction of money from contractor is illegal, Chief Minister asked the citizens to report any such malpractice directly to the Chief Minister’s Office for strict action to be initiated against the officers involved.