[ Bengia Ajum ]
ITANAGAR, 2 May: Six government officials whose jobs were terminated for their alleged involvement in the APPSC question paper leak scam have reportedly gone to the court and sought a stay on the action against them.
The SIC and the CBI during the course of their investigation arrested 41 government officials for their involvement in the scam. Of them, the services of 19 employees who were yet to be confirmed and who were under probation were terminated. In total, 54 people have been arrested in connection with the paper leak case.
Also, disciplinary inquiries against eight regular government employees, out of 22 against whom cases were initiated, have been completed.
“The process to terminate these eight employees has started. Inquiry against the remaining ones is also being fast-tracked,” informed Administrative Reforms Secretary Ajay Chagti on Tuesday, briefing the media about the reforms initiated by the government with regard to the APPSC scam.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has refused to entertain the plea of the Arunachal government to conduct examinations for Groups A and B services in the state. Heeding the demand of the ANSU and the Pan Arunachal Joint Steering Committee, the state government had written to the UPSC to conduct the examination.
Replying to the state government, the UPSC said that Article 315 (4), under which the state government had requested it to conduct the examinations, “is not permissible when a duly constituted public service commission is functioning in the state.”
The UPSC also noted that the APPSC is “still functioning with one member of commission.”
In October 2022, Chief Minister Pema Khandu while meeting the then governor BD Mishra had handed over the state cabinet’s recommendation to invoke provisions of Article 317 in order to remove members of the APPSC.
Nipo Nabam resigned as the APPSC chairman after the question paper of the assistant engineer examination had been leaked, and later members Tsering Naksang, major general Ganesh Singh Bisht and retired major general Jarken Gamlin also resigned.
One member, Tadar Mepung Bage, has not resigned.
“Inquiry was conducted into the exam leakage matter by a three-member committee, with emphasis on standard operating procedure followed in the APPSC. The report was shared with the commission and also in public. The age limit for direct recruitment for civil services and civil posts was enhanced from 32 years (with 5 years age relaxation for APST candidates) to 35 years (40 years for APST). Also, the Gauhati High Court agreed to designate the district & sessions court in Yupia as a special fast-track court to take up the APPSC paper leak case and government notification was issued,” Chagti said.
He said that the government feels that people holding important posts in the commission should be transferred every two years “to ensure that they do not influence.”
“The possibility of the integrity of employees who were permanently working within the commission and handling sensitive tasks getting compromised was very high. The commission was earlier constrained to continue with employees who may have come under a cloud. Therefore, the cadres in the APPSC have been merged with the common cadres of the government/secretariat to facilitate transfer of individuals with doubtful integrity from the commission,” he said.
Chagti said also that a draft bill for framing the ‘Arunachal Pradesh Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment), Act’ has been uploaded on the website.
“The bill contemplates stringent provisions for unfair means in such exams. We appeal to people to come forward and give suggestions within the next four weeks,” he added.
Also, the state government on 29 April issued fresh advertisements to select new chairman and members of the APPSC.
“It is going to take four weeks to complete the selection procedure. After that, it will be sent to the cabinet for approval. As soon as the new team takes over, the examination can be conducted by them,” the secretary said.
