Arunachal seeks new officer cadre

CM Pema Khandu points to State’s cultural and topographical diversity

Heads of States: Governors and Lieutenant-Governors during a meeting at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday.

Arunachal Pradesh, India’s eastern-most State, wants a separate cadre of bureaucrats because of its cultural and topographical diversity.

Officials and police officers posted in the State belong to the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre, and are deputed for a minimum of two years and above.

Governor Brigadier B.D. Mishra (retired) raised the issue at the annual conference of Governors held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Saturday.

Speaking to

The Hindu , Chief Minister Pema Khandu said the State had 27 major tribes and more than 100 sub-tribes. “We need a dedicated cadre of bureaucrats for the State because of its diversity. Sometimes it becomes difficult to understand the pulse of the people, even for an Arunachali like me. Think of bureaucrats of the AGMUT cadre who come here for two years...,” he said.

Frequent transfers

He said Arunachal Pradesh became a State in 1987, and since then the dynamics had changed. “There is no institutional memory as officers are transferred frequently. This affects governance, and benefits do not reach people. Political parties enter office and go out, but a dedicated bureaucracy is essential for the State’s welfare.”

Mr. Khandu said he had raised the issue on many occasions with the President, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. “It is a legitimate and genuine demand.”

According to the Union Home Ministry, the cadre-controlling authority of the AGMUT, the sanctioned strength of IAS officers to be posted in Arunachal Pradesh is 42 and of IPS officers is 35. “Arunachal is not a Union Territory, it deserves a dedicated cadre of officers,” Mr. Khandu said.