Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 14 May: The state government has approved the Special Investigation Cell (SIC) to investigate the illegal appointments made in the public health engineering & water supply (PHE&WS) department.
An SIC official informed this daily that the SIC has registered the FIR and is going to start the investigation. Also, the government has cancelled the appointment of 20 work-charged (WC) employees illegally appointed in the department.
While cancelling the appointments, the government stated that fresh appointments were examined and it has been found that the employees were appointed in violation of the laid down procedures, as well as without sanctioned posts.
Meanwhile, the All Arunachal Pradesh Public Health Engineering & Water Supply Department Workers Union (AAPPHE&WSDWU), which has been spearheading the fight against the illegal appointments made in the department, has welcomed the decision to give approval to the SIC for investigation, and the cancellation of appointments.
“We hope the SIC will start the investigation at the earliest and punish the people involved in the illegal appointments. No one should be spared, including the officials involved in this massive job scam,” said AAPPHE&WSDWU president Tadar Dawa, briefing the press here on Tuesday.
He said also that “the cancellation of an appointment will give justice to those who are working in the department for so many years.
“I hope those who are giving service to the department for more than 20 years as casual labourers get appointed as WC employees after a proper DPC meeting,” he said.
He thanked all the NGOs, pressure groups and student unions for extending support to the AAPPHE&WSDWU’s cause. He said that “the number of illegal appointments is more than 20,” and that his team will continue to follow up the case.
Recently, several illegal appointments were made in the PHE&WS department in Changlang and Longding districts. The AAPPHE&WSDWU had alleged that 25 persons were illegally appointed in the department. These appointments were mostly made just prior to the assembly election in March, raising the possibility of a vote-for-job scam.
Meanwhile, the Wancho Students’ Union (WSU) has appealed to the chief secretary to initiate an early probe into the alleged fraudulent appointment of WC employees in the PHE&WS department in Longding and Changlang districts.
In a representation submitted to the CS on Monday, the WSU stated, “Seventeen fraudulent appointments as WC employees were made in the department of PHE&WS in different districts – nine in Longding alone.”
“Sources have revealed that neither any advertisement was floated nor any interview was conducted. There is growing apprehension that the appointments might be part of election campaigns as the process was executed prior to the election months,” the union claimed, and sought early action to ensure that the perpetrators involved are brought to justice.
