UPSC rejects proposal to conduct APPSC exam before new chairman is appointed

ITANAGAR: The Secretary of Administrative Reforms (AR), Ajay Chagti said that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has declined the proposal of the state government to conduct the APPSC examination till the induction of the new chairman and members of the Commission.

Addressing media persons at the civil secretariat on Tuesday, Ajay Chagti informed that the state government requested UPSC to conduct the exams as per the recruitment-related policy of the state for the vacant Group-A & B posts till the APPSC is constituted and made functional. However, UPSC through a letter has declined to conduct the exams. Accordingly, an advertisement has been released for the appointment of the Chairman and other members of the state commission.

He said the state government has also set up a two-member committee for suggesting Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the commission. With the completion of the suggestions, the report was shared with the Commission by the state government.

Speaking on the ongoing investigation, Secretary AR stated that the Gauhati High Court has agreed to designate District and Sessions Court Yupia as a special fast-track court to take up the APPSC cash-for-job scam. Also, confirming the decision taken to request the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to inquire into the matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the secretary informed that ED has started its investigation.

However, when asked about how many people/officials had been questioned by ED or about any finding of ED from raids conducted so far, Secretary categorically said that as of there is no concrete information about the details from ED. “Total 41 government officials have been found involved in the malpractices and services of 19 employees, who were yet to be confirmed in service, were terminated. Disciplinary cases were initiated against 22 regular employees and the inquiry has been completed in 8 cases,” he added.

The Secretary also asserted that Vigilance Department has been asked to frame rules under Section 26 of the Whistle Blower Act, and the government has already set up a three-member committee for framing the rules.

“The possibility of the integrity of employees who were permanently working within the Commission and handling sensitive tasks getting compromised was very high. Therefore, the cadres in APPSC have been merged with the common cadres of the Government/Secretariat to facilitate the transfer of individuals with doubtful integrity from the Commission,” he said.

The secretary also informed a draft bill for framing ‘The Arunachal Pradesh Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act’ has been uploaded in the website for inviting comments. “The Bill contemplates stringent provisions for unfair means in such exams,” he said while inviting stakeholders to share needful inputs to strengthen the Bill.

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