Arunachal: UPSC rejects proposal to conduct APPSC exams

Secretary of the administrative reforms and spokesperson for the Arunachal Pradesh government, Ajay Chagti on May 2  announced that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has rejected a proposal to conduct exams on behalf of the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC). This decision comes amidst ongoing reforms and investigations into allegations of paper leakage in the APPSC.

Last year, an unfortunate paper leakage matter came to light, prompting the government to constitute a three-member enquiry committee to check the standard operating procedure being used in the commission. The committee made 17 recommendations, which were shared with civil societies, the media, and the commission. This was the first step in the internal reforms within APPSC.

In addition, an investigation was launched into the matter, with the Arunachal police registering an FIR on August 29. The Special Investigation Cell (SIC) later took over the investigation and made 54 arrests, while the CBI registered two cases, one pertaining to the specific exam of Assistant Engineer 2022 and the other pertaining to all exams conducted by APPSC since 2014. The government gave the investigation agencies a free hand to cleanse the system, and the process is still ongoing.

To further address the issue, a request was forwarded to the Guwahati High Court to appoint a fast track court for the early disposal of cases related to the paper leakage scam. The government also invited the Enforcement Department to investigate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which will cover the properties and assets of any person involved in this matter beyond their position and power.

Disciplinary proceedings were also carried out, and out of the 54 arrests made, 41 were government officials, of which 21 were regular employees and 19 were non-regular staff. The employees were terminated as per agreement, and disciplinary proceedings were conducted in eight cases. The government is now preparing a draft standard operating procedure for the commission, which will be shared with the commission when it is constituted for implementation.

The government also recognizes the need to protect whistleblowers like Gyamar Padang, and a new act will be made for its implementation. One of the main systematic problems that came to the knowledge of the government was that employees working in APPSC were continuously engulfed in malpractices, as they had a separate cadre and couldn't be transferred to any other place. When the high court left them without any punishment, and disciplinary proceedings in previous exams were not concluded, they remained employees of APPSC. To rectify this issue, the government merged all these people in the commission with the respective cadres of the Civil Secretariat of Itanagar, allowing them to be transferred within a period of two years, especially those handling sensitive assignments.

To prevent such incidents from happening in the future, the government has made a draft that includes stringent punishment, not even mentioned in the Indian Penal Code.

However, despite these reforms and investigations, the UPSC has rejected the proposal to conduct exams on behalf of APPSC, and now the government is bound to form new members in the commission. Chagti emphasized that the APPSC is a constitutional body, and the government must rise above tribes and ensure that the best people get selected in the Public Service Commission.