ITANAGAR, 21 Apr: The Arunachal Pradesh Civil Service (APCS) officers posted within and outside the state will go on a mass casual leave for four days from 25 April, in protest against non-fulfillment of their various demands, as well as against “undermining the interests of the APCS cadre by the state government.”
The decision was taken by the central executive committee of the Arunachal Pradesh Civil Service Officers Association (APCSOA) in an emergency meeting here on Friday, the APCSOA said in a release.
Informing about the decision taken, the APCSOA, in a letter to the chief secretary, stated that several representations have already been submitted to all the competent authorities regarding the various issues of the APCS cadre, “but to no avail.”
It said that a meeting in this regard was held under the chairmanship of the home minister on 7 April and, consequently, the APCSOA had agreed to defer the mass casual leave protest announced by it.
Regarding the posting of the ULB director, it was decided in the meeting that the home minister would discuss the matter with the chief minister within a week, and that the present incumbent, Mito Dirchi, would continue in the post till then.
“Surprisingly, Dirchi has been relieved from the post of ULB director through an order (No SULB/E-424/2023/137 Dated 21st April 2023)” the association said.
“Regarding revocation of abeyance order in respect of posting of APCS officer as director, IT, it was informed that e-file regarding representation of the APCSOA is already under submission for taking a view.
“Despite passage of several months since the first APCSOA representation in this matter, and two weeks since the meeting with the APCSOA, no conclusive action has been taken in this regard yet,” the association said in the letter.
On the demand for on-time convening of DPC meetings and on-time induction into the IAS, “it was informed that the DPC for promotion to APCS (admin grade), APCS (selection grade) & APCS (senior grade) was held on 23.03.2023, and that orders would be issued shortly upon government approval of the recommendations. The assured order has not been issued yet,” it said.
The association said: “It is seen that the process of induction of APCS officers into IAS takes several years. The vacancies against the select list of 2018 to 2020, for instance, were filled up in 2023. This is contrary to the timely induction process in other states, carried out in a regular and routine manner. The vacancy determinations for the select list of 2021 & 2022 have not been intimated to the DoPT/UPSC, as the case may be, yet.”
“Regarding the posting of APCS (EG) as undersecretary in AP secretariat/nomenclature change: It was informed that an e-file has been processed to seek legal opinion for taking it forward. No conclusive action in this regard is made known to the association,” the release added.
“It is highly demotivating that on National Civil Services Day, while the entire APCS fraternity actively participated in the celebrations and awaited a positive decision from the competent authorities, the government thought it fit to issue an order with regard to the issue of director (ULB) by undermining the several representations submitted by the APCSOA and in breach of the understanding arrived at in the meeting held on 7 April, 2023,” the release said.
