Nagaland govt offices paralyzed as JCC continues pen-down strike over IAS induction row

Government offices across Nagaland remained paralysed for the second consecutive day as members of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) continued their pen-down strike demanding the cancellation of the proposed induction of a non-Nagaland Civil Service (NCS) officer into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre.

The JCC, representing five major associations of state government employees—the Confederation of All Nagaland State Services Employees Association (CANSSEA), Nagaland In-Service Doctors Association (NIDA), Nagaland Secretariat Service Association (NSSA), Nagaland Finance and Accounts Service Association (NF&ASA), and Federation of Nagaland State Engineering Service Association (FONSESA)—had launched the third phase of their agitation on Tuesday.

The agitation aims to press the state government to withdraw its move to include a non-NCS officer in the IAS induction list and to ensure that future selections are based strictly on merit.

A JCC spokesperson told PTI that the second day of the strike passed off peacefully with full cooperation from government employees across directorates, districts, and sub-divisional offices.

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During the day, Chief Secretary Sentiyanger Imchen held a meeting with officials and representatives of the JCC and the five associations at his office in the Nagaland Civil Secretariat. Although the meeting did not yield any conclusive decision, JCC representatives reiterated their two primary demands: the immediate withdrawal of the non-state cadre officer’s name from the panel list sent to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for IAS induction, and the reinstatement of the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) clause in future induction processes to safeguard merit-based selection.

The employee associations also urged the state government to adhere to its earlier Office Memorandums of 2001 and 2016, which stipulated that such recruitment should be carried out strictly through the NPSC or by open advertisement.

According to the JCC spokesperson, the chief secretary assured the delegation that their concerns would be placed before the state Cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday. The JCC added that it would decide its next course of action after reviewing the Cabinet’s decision, as Thursday marks the final day of their third-phase agitation.