SRINAGAR, 15 Sep: The Confederation of Service Associations of Arunachal Pradesh (CoSAAP) has urged the All-India State Government Employees Federation (AISGEF) to formally adopt and endorse a comprehensive set of proposals concerning special incentives, allowances and other service-related issues of government employees serving in Arunachal Pradesh in particular and the Northeastern region of India in general, for consideration by the 8th Central Pay Commission (8th CPC) and the Government of India.

The appeal was made during a two-day national executive committee (NEC) meeting of the AISGEF, held in Srinagar on 12-13 September.

Representatives of employees' associations, federations and unions from 22 states of India participated in it, the CoSAAP said in a release.

The CoSAAP was represented by its president Likha Tech and secretary-general Leena Taggu, who placed before the AISGEF NEC meeting the distinctive geographical, administrative, socioeconomic and service-related hardships faced by employees serving in the NE region.

The CoSAAP said that the proposals were placed through the North Eastern States Government Employees & Teachers' United Forum (NESGETUF) as an initiative of the CoSAAP, with the objective of ensuring that the genuine difficulties and working conditions of employees serving in the region are appropriately reflected in the deliberations of the 8th CPC.

"Considering the facts, genuineness and distinctive nature of the issues raised by the CoSAAP, the NEC of AISGEF accepted the proposal and unanimously resolved to place and pursue the demands before the Government of India and the chairperson and members of the 8th CPC," the release said.

Highlighting the unique challenges faced by NE region and referring to its earlier proposal submitted to the 8th CPC through the NESGETUP on 16 April, the CoSAAP stated that, "except for certain comparatively accessible areas of Assam, the NE region presents distinctive geographical, administrative and socioeconomic challenges. These difficulties are particularly acute in remote, hilly, inaccessible and international-border areas," the release said.

It demanded substantial enhancement and extension of special duty allowance (SDA) with a minimum proposed rate of 20-25% of basic pay for eligible state government employees serving in the NE region.

The confederation demanded introduction of a dedicated border area allowance, proposed at 10-15% of basic pay, for employees serving in notified international-border areas, and introduction of a dedicated allowance for state government employees posted in highly inaccessible, remote and difficult areas.

The CoSAAP also urged the AISGEF to pursue, as a matter of priority, a field visit by the 8th CPC chairperson and members to the NE states, especially remote, difficult and international-border areas of Arunachal. The CoSAAP emphasised that such a visit would enable the commission to obtain a firsthand understanding of the actual conditions under which government employees discharge their duties.

The CoSAAP emphasised that the strategic importance of the Northeastern region, particularly its international boundaries with China, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh, warrants special consideration in the formulation of employee incentive policies.

On the sidelines of the NEC meeting, the CoSAAP leadership also strongly urged all delegates to denounce and condemn every form of racial discrimination in the country.

The CoSAAP emphasised that government employees, "being responsible and accountable citizens," have an important role to play in creating awareness and standing firmly against racial discrimination and prejudice.

Referring to the numerous instances of discrimination and racial prejudice reportedly faced by people from the Northeastern region in different parts of the country, the CoSAAP called upon employees' organisations to take a proactive and collective stand against such discrimination.

The CoSAAP said that the dignity, equality and constitutional rights of every citizen must be respected, irrespective of their region, ethnicity, appearance, language or cultural identity.