Governor asks Centre to create separate service cadre for Arunachal

New Delhi, Oct. 6 (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brig (retd) B D Mishra on Sunday called on Union minister Jitendra Singh and discussed with him a wide range of issues pertaining to the state, particularly a separate cadre for all India service officers.

During the meeting, the governor requested the minister to accede to the demand of the state government, including Chief Minister Pema Khandu, to have a separate IAS cadre for Arunachal, presently a part of the AGMUT cadre, shared by Union territories and the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Goa.

According to an official statement, Mishra said that this demand is inspired by the increasing requirement of IAS officers for Arunachal Pradesh as well as by the consideration of having officers exclusively designated to serve in the state.

As the two new Union Territories Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh will also be part of the AGMUT cadre after October 31, Mishra requested Singh to explore the possibility of excluding the states out of it, since two new UTs will get added to the cadre from next month.

Singh, the Union minister for PMO, personnel and ministry of development of the north eastern region, conveyed to the governor that he has already instructed the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to undertake an exercise to explore the feasibility of the demand put forward by the Arunachal Pradesh government.

The minister said since the Union territories fall under the domain of the Home Ministry, an option, if any, will require to be discussed with the Home Ministry as well. However, the DoPT shall try to take up the issue with the Home Ministry also for their view, Singh said.

The minister also informed the governor that most of the pending centrally funded projects for Arunachal Pradesh have been cleared and are progressing satisfactorily.

He informed that the land for the first ever airport for Arunachal Pradesh has also been acquired and the work on it is likely to start soon.

Another landmark project of the state will be the upcoming Film and Television Institute which was approved by the Modi government in its first term and is possibly going to be the first institute of its kind after a similar institute that already exists in Pune, he said.

For promotion of tourism, the minister shared with the governor, a number of new initiatives envisaged by the Modi government.