ITANAGAR, 22 Nov: Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday said that the state government has decided to increase the eligibility age of APST candidates up to 40 years – from the current 37 years – for appearing for APPSC exams.
The move is expected to bring a sigh of relief to the educated unemployed youths of the state, particularly the victims of the recent APPSC fiasco.
Expressing shock and disgust over the recent paper leakage scam in the state’s top recruiting body, Khandu said that “the state government is alive to the over-aging concerns of aspirants for no fault of theirs, and therefore has decided to increase the age limit.”
“It was our government that had increased the age limit for APPSC examinations from 35 to 37 for APSTs. Now we will increase it to 40 for the benefit of all aspirants, including those who have been deprived of a fair chance due to few vested interest persons,” Khandu said.
He informed that the state public service commission is “in the process of complete overhaul, and soon a robust and stricter SOP will be in place, as is with the staff selection board.”
The CM assured the people that his government would deal with all kinds of corruption with iron hands. He also issued a warning to corrupt officials. “I may not have the power to give employment, but I still have the power to take it away,” he said.
In line with the 7th CPC, Khandu said that dearness allowance and dearness relief of all regular state government employees would be enhanced by 4 percent, “which would see an increment in their DA/DR from 34 percent to 28 percent with effect from 1 July, 2022.”
“The state government employees will also from now on receive house rent allowance, at par with central government employees,” he added.
Khandu also announced that non-practicing allowance will be paid to government doctors from now on, saying that it was “a long pending request of the doctor fraternity of the state.”
He informed that, in implementing all these announcements, the state exchequer will have to bear an additional burden of Rs 172 crore per year, but said that his government is capable and ready to bear it.
“Our government is a performing government. In recent years, we have more than doubled our revenue generation, and Rs 172 crore is but a small amount to be spent on the welfare of our employees, who are the backbone of the government,” he said.
Attending the Vivekananda Kendra’s 50 years of service to the nation at the DK Convention Centre here, Khandu reiterated that “the country and the state are in the right direction of progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
He said that the people of the state “will always be indebted to Mananiya Eknath Ranade, founder of Vivekananda Kendra, for choosing Arunachal Pradesh as the kendra’s karmabhoomi as early as 1977, when the first set of Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalayas (VKV) were established in the then union territory.”
The kendra today runs 41 schools in Arunachal.
Khandu lauded the schools run by the kendra, particularly the VKVs, “for providing all-round nationalistic education to the tribal children,” and added that the contribution of the VKVs in improving the educational scenario in the state “is immeasurable.” (CM’s PR Cell)
