Itanagar, Sep 23: Employees of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) across the country, including those in Arunachal Pradesh, observed a one-day pen down strike cum demonstration on Tuesday, demanding the implementation of a “One Nation, One KVK” policy.
The agitation was spearheaded by the Forum of KVK and AICRP, supported by employees working under host organisations such as State Agricultural Universities, NGOs, and state governments.
Staff of KVK West Kameng (Dirang), East Kameng (Pampoli), Lower Subansiri (Yazali), and Dibang Valley (Anini) joined the nationwide agitation, raising slogans and holding placards against what they termed discriminatory service policies of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
The protesters alleged long-standing disparities between ICAR-run KVKs and those managed by non-ICAR organisations. Despite performing identical roles, non-ICAR KVK employees claimed they continue to face unequal pay scales, delayed salaries, denial of career advancement opportunities, and lack of retirement benefits such as pension and gratuity. Employees also pointed out that ICAR’s contradictory orders often created administrative deadlocks, further affecting agricultural research and extension activities.
The agitation follows ICAR’s failure to fulfill assurances made during the VKSA (Kharif) campaign earlier this year, including resolving pay and promotion issues within 100 days and withdrawing controversial orders.
With the upcoming VKSA (Rabi) scheduled from October 3 to 18, the Forum of KVK has unanimously decided to boycott the programme unless their demands are met. Representatives from 21 states endorsed this resolution in a meeting held earlier this month.
The Forum has reiterated its demand for immediate implementation of the recommendations of the Paroda High Power Committee, which called for parity across all KVKs. They stressed that only written orders from ICAR would be acceptable going forward, rejecting verbal or telephonic assurances.
With over 90% of India’s 731 KVKs run by non-ICAR host organisations, the striking employees warned that continued neglect of their grievances could affect grassroots agricultural development and farmers’ welfare.