Arunachal cabinet decides to bring in reforms in PSC, restructure health facilities

Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh cabinet on Thursday decided to bring in reforms in the state public service commission and restructure health facilities.

The cabinet headed by Chief Minister Pema Khandu also took a decision to constitute a high-level ministerial committee to examine the requirement of a permanent residence certificate for appearing in exams conducted by the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC).

The panel will study various aspects of the matter, including the practice of PRC being made mandatory by other states such as Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland.

The committee would also consider previous reports submitted to the government in the matter and give its recommendations in a time-bound manner, a communiqué from the Chief Minister's Office said.

The cabinet decided to compulsorily include regional topics on Arunachal Pradesh in specific and North East India in general, in the syllabus of competitive exams conducted in the state.

It also agreed to strengthen a grievance redressal mechanism in APPSC for which regulations related to the formation of a permanent body and timelines for disposal of complaints will be framed.

"The provisions regarding marks in various subjects and number of persons to be called for interview shall be amended and will be aligned with prevailing rules governing the selection by UPSC," the statement said.

For the appointment of chairman and members of the commission, the cabinet decided that the provisions of article 316 of the Constitution would be followed.

It also approved a proposal for the restructuring of health facilities in the state.

The state cabinet also gave its nod for developing a state human resource index and transfer policy linked to IPHS norms to move toward the rational deployment of health personnel in the state.

The cabinet was apprised of the decisions and deliberations of the first-ever national conference on chief secretaries.

The chief minister instructed all ministers to hold a meeting every week with their respective commissioners and secretaries to carry forward the agenda of the conference, the communiqué added.