The decision of the state government to not only cancel appointments but also let Special Investigation Cell (SIC) investigate the illegal appointments made in the public health engineering & water supply (PHE&WS) department is a welcome step. Several illegal appointments were recently made in the PHE&WS department in Changlang and Longding districts. So far the government has cancelled appointments of 20 WC employees. These appointments were mostly made just before the March assembly election, raising the possibility of a vote-for-job scam.
The All Arunachal Pradesh Public Health Engineering & Water Supply Department Workers Union (AAPPHE&WSDWU) has been demanding immediate cancellation of the appointments made as well as SIC investigation. Huge credit to them for strongly taking up this case. Their relentless pressure has forced the government to swing into action. The SIC should properly investigate the case. There are possibilities of the involvement of top officials of PHE&WS department. Without their approval, it is impossible to carry out such kind of illegal appointments. The SIC has done a good job in the past while investigating illegal appointment cases in the education department and also APPSC paper leakage scam. Many big shots were arrested. People of the state will hope that SIC will investigate illegal appointments made in the public health engineering & water supply (PHE&WS) department in a similar fearless manner and arrest everyone involved in such a huge job scam.