7th CPC Implementation- Impetus for Greater Work Culture in Office
Itanagar
By Denhang Bosai, Deputy Director, IPR, Arunachal Pradesh
It goes without saying that the announcement of implementation of the Pay Commission Reports is the most eagerly awaited event in the life of the government employees. And why not, after all this comes once in a decade. Little wonder then, the announcement of implementation of the 7th CPC by the Arunachal Pradesh state government has come like a breath of fresh and has brought smiles on the faces of the state government employees. Many of them are grinning from ear to ear in anticipation of the enhanced emolument that they would draw soon. Some of them have already planned in advance as to how they would gainfully utilise the increased salaries they would get. All the government employees are, as expected, singing a sweet tune of praises for the state government led by the young and dynamic Chief Minister Pema Khandu who is ably assisted by the patriarch DCM Chowna Mein and senior and seasoned politicians in his Cabinet including Nabam Rebia, Wangki Lowang, Tamiyo Taga, Honchun Ngandam, Rajesh Tacho and others. Needless to say that Pema Khandu government has amply proved to be a truly people-friendly government and Pema Khandu has emerged as the people’s Chief Minister. The state government has taken this bold decision of implementing the 7th CPC against the backdrop of a not so sound financial health of the state considering the tremendous contributions the state government employees are making towards the all round growth of the frontier state.
Some people in the state have this utterly wrong notion that only the government employees would be benefited. The fact is that the whole state would gain from this 7th CPC implementation. The family members and relatives of the employees will be the first beneficiaries undoubtedly but it should also be kept in mind that Arunachal economy being ‘salary-based’ in the absence of any industry worth its name, most of the households in the state boast of at least one family member serving in the state government. So, essentially the whole state is going to reap the sweet harvest of the 7th CPC thanks to the audacity and generosity of the Pema Khandu-led state government. Interestingly, even the shopkeepers and those in various small business sectors will gain from this watershed decision of the state government because the buying power of the government employees will increase with the increase in their payment. This buying power will automatically help the people in business sector. The Co SAAP also deserves appreciation for demanding implementation of the 7th CPC in a dignified and mature manner without resorting to unnecessary moves and methodologies that would tarnish its image. This should be the spirit of other organisations also. We cannot afford to antagonise and exert unnecessary pressure on our state government. It’s our government and our daily bread and butter come from our government. To hammer out any contentious issue, dialogue and only dialogue is the best way. Resorting to strikes and bandh calls are detrimental to the healthy growth of our developing state. People from all walks of life should contribute their mite towards building a strong, vibrant and self-reliant state. Everybody in the state should be ready and willing to travel the proverbial extra mile to assist and support the state government in carrying out the development schemes and projects without any hiccup or hitch.
Having said and done, the state government employees may not have a windfall gain from the 7th CPC unlike they got from the 6th CPC ten years ago. The gain from the 6th CPC was so much so that many government employees started buying cars and built their dream homes. When I asked a senior government employee who has a good knowledge of financial transactions as to how much we would be gaining from the 7th CPC, he told me, “Look, unfortunately for the government employees and fortunately for the whole country, we have a very shrewd Finance Minister in Arun Jaitly who knows too much. So, we may not gain too much.” However, an enhancement in pay structure is an enhancement for the government employees whether the amount involved is big or small. Some government employees including yours truly who had served for a long time with utmost sincerity and unwavering devotion are eagerly waiting to see the financial gain we are likely have. If the retirement benefit is good and attractive then many of us will apply for VRS to pave way for the young and better educated unemployed youth of the state. The best way in which the state government employees can express their gratitude to the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues for implementing the 7th CPC is by improving the work culture in the offices. To call spade a spade, the work culture, especially among most of the tribal government employees needs a lot to be desired. When the payment of the government employees had been enhanced, the employees are duty-bound to provide better services to the people. They are basically service providers and they should spare no effort to provide the best services to the people. They are being paid for the services they give to the state and the people. In fact, the government employees should consider themselves to be the chosen ones to serve the state. The government employees are the real strength of any government. The Ministers and the public representatives only formulate rules and take decisions on vital development projects. The actual execution is carried out by the government employees. So, it can be concluded that the government is only as good as its employees. The onerous onus of building the state is on the government employees. The state government has done its duty by implementing the much-hyped and most eagerly awaited 7th CPC. Now, it’s the turn of the government employees to pay back by working with utmost sincerity, devotion and honesty. The destiny of the state depends upon them. Together they can do it and give the state of Arunachal Pradesh a pride of place in the country.
