Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 6 Sep: Chief Minister Pema Khandu informed the legislative house on Wednesday that the Siang flood is a national concern. He was responding to Mebo MLA Lombo Tayeng, who brought up the matter during Zero Hour discussion, demanding that the Siang flood be declared a national calamity.
“The issue raised by the honorable member is genuine and serious; we need to work on a long-term vision,” CM Khandu said.
There is no provision, either executive or legal, to declare a natural calamity as a national calamity. The existing guidelines of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) do not contemplate declaring a disaster as a national calamity. Additionally, there is no mention of a national calamity in the Disaster Management Act of 2005, Khandu added.
CM Khandu informed the house that China’s 14th five-year plan had approved a 60,000-megawatt dam project over the Siang River in Tibet. If the dam is built in the future, it would have a significant impact downstream in the Siang belt, Assam, and Bangladesh. The government of India has also raised the issue with China. Khandu also informed that recently, his government has discussed the Siang flood matter with the ministry of Jal Shakti
during the Brahmaputra Board meeting. He urged community leaders to come forward to discuss the future of the mighty Siang River.
Reservation’s litigation hindering appointments
Responding to Congress MLA Wanglin Lowangdong’s query about government job reservations for districts, Khandu said that the district job quota issue would be determined by the judgment of Guwahati High Court’s Itanagar Permanent Bench, as the matter is sub judice in the court.
The Chief Minister was responding to the supplementary question of the Congress MLA, who sought a response from the government regarding whether the district quota in government jobs, which is primarily for the district, has continued and what steps the government is taking to provide equal opportunities in government jobs.
Khandu informed that before the establishment of the Arunachal Pradesh Staff Selection Board (APSSB), there was no mechanism for the reservation of government jobs for districts to maintain the spirit of equal opportunities and representation.
“Considering the dynamism of a multi-tribes state, we have decided to introduce a district quota so that equal opportunities can be given to all tribes. However, last year, someone filed a petition in the court regarding the district quota, and now the matter is subjudice,” he added, disclosing that 710 vacant posts are unable to be advertised due to the ongoing litigation.
“We would revisit the district quota based on the judgment of the high court,” Khandu asserted. He further urged legislators and government officials not to encourage contractual recruitments, stating that it creates a wrong precedence, as all contractual employees started claiming job regularization. “We should not encourage contractual job recruitment; we should do away with this bad habit,” he said.
