The popular demand for the creation of separate cadre of AIS for Arunachal received a boost with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in its state executive meeting recently passing a resolution to pursue with the central leadership on the same.

Arunachal’s demand for a separate cadre of All-India Services (AIS) namely, IAS, IPS and IFS is an old one. There had been countless number of talks and assurances that the demand would be met, but as of now, nothing fruitful has happened. This stokes the question- how long will it take for the decision takers to decide? It’s nothing an outlandish claim and a host of reasons can be cited at one go to underline its immediate necessity.

The term ‘governance’ has now become a buzzword and in every deliberation falling under the genre of public policy and administration as well as when it comes to reaching out to the electorate in search of votes by the political parties, it has an unmistakable presence. The importance and impact of the institution of civil services in a vast country like India will need no reiteration and it will not be an exaggeration if it’s called as the ‘backbone’ of administrative machinery of the country. The MPs, MLAs and all the people’s representatives know by various names may earn the blessings of the electorate and draw policies, but when it comes to implementation, it’s the civil servants who actually carry them out and determine the realisation of the much-repeated phrase ‘taking development to the last man in the line’.

 Arunachal’s case is more unique than many other states since it has a vast geographical area, the largest in the Northeast and for any officer, just to get accustomed with the assigned area, it takes quite a while. A short stint, as it happens normally in the state, weeds out the prospect of reaching the desired level of familiarity with the local tribal culture, customs and sentiments. This is the single-most stumbling block for the IAS and IPS in playing their mandated roles desirably and their premature departures have always been felt as a bumper to better delivery of governance in the state. It’s necessary to mention that among all the existing cadres of AIS comprising the IAS,  IPS and IFS, there are five zones and the state comes under the group of Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram and other Union Territories (AGMUT). The long-term significance of having a separate cadre has been proved many times across the country since decades and a number of NE states even smaller than Arunachal namely Manipur, Tripura and Sikkim have greatly benefited out of this shift.

It’s unfathomable why the Centre is lingering the issue and a positive decision should have been taken much  earlier. The state meanwhile must also keep alive the issue by raising it as many further times necessary.