The Arunachal Pradesh government has constituted a high-level committee to examine the possibility of abolishing the existing 80:20 reservation ratio in state government recruitment and to assess the proposal for making Permanent Residence Certificates (PRC) and Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe (APST) certificates compulsory for all competitive recruitment examinations.
According to an official order issued by the Chief Secretary on July 6, the six-member committee will be headed by Industries Minister Nyato Dukam. Other members include the Principal Secretary (Home), Secretary (Law), Secretary (Personnel), Secretary of the Social Justice, Empowerment and Tribal Affairs (SJETA) Department, and the Joint Secretary of the Administrative Reforms and Training (AR&T) Department.
To ensure participation of the indigenous student community, the government has also invited the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) president, or his nominee, to attend the committee’s deliberations as a special invitee.
The committee has been entrusted with examining the constitutional and legal aspects of reservation policies and the use of PRCs in government recruitment. It will also study recruitment practices followed by neighbouring states, including Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur, review the recommendations of an earlier high-level committee on the issue, and assess the current system for issuing PRCs in Arunachal Pradesh.
The panel has been asked to submit its recommendations to the state government within two months.
Welcoming the move, AAPSU president Meje Taku said the committee’s formation reflected the success of the students’ union’s sustained campaign on the issue.
Describing it as an important milestone for the state’s indigenous youth, Taku said the union would continue to engage with the government until the recommendations are translated into concrete policy decisions.
He also stated that the state government had assured the union that other demands included in its 13-point memorandum—such as the proposed amendment to Article 371(H), resolution of the Chakma-Hajong issue, completion of the Assam-Arunachal boundary demarcation, enactment of anti-racism legislation, research fellowships for APST scholars, and additional CUET examination centres—are being considered by the concerned departments.
The development comes a day after AAPSU served the government with a seven-day deadline seeking action on its charter of demands.
