Health Dept placates doctors; AMHSDA refutes claim
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, January 08 2023:
Health & Family Welfare Department has reiterated that the government is making sincere efforts for addressing the grievances put up by All Manipur Health Services Doctors' Association (AMHSDA), hence, the Association and all MHS doctors should not to take any steps that will hamper health care services to general public.
As per a release by the Department issued on Saturday, AMHSDA had put forward four demands to the government which included time bound/scale promotion, extension of superannuation age of specialist and non-specialist doctors to 65 years, inclusion of NPA in the Basic Pay with effect from January 1, 2016 as per the 7th Central Pay Commission and major amendment of the outdated MHS Rules, 1982.As assured during the meeting of health minister Dr S Ranjan Singh with representatives of AMHSDA on November 18, 2022, the department has taken steps including approving the proposal regarding revision in NPA guidelines and it has been referred to Finance Department for further processing; expediting promotion of MHS officers with proposal regarding promotion from MHS Grade II to Grade I sent to Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC); administrative approval regarding DPC for promotion from MHS Grade III to Grade II has been obtained and proposal will be sent to MPSC; Health Services director has submitted proposal for promotion from MHS Grade IV to Grade III to Administrative Department vide letter dated December 30, 2022 and the proposal is under active process and the process for amendment to MHS Rules, 1982 is also under active consideration to enable suitable time bound promotion during the career of an MHS officer, it pointed out.
The release continued that as wholesome changes to the MHS Rules, 1982 are considered necessary in view of need to cater to current realities and needs, the Department had undertaken an extensive exercise for review of the said Rules and a new MHS Rules has been drafted, which will address many grievances relating to the MHS Rules, 1982.After approval of Health Department, the draft MHS Rules has been forwarded to the Department of Personnel for notification.
Enhancement of retirement age of any organised service has various implications; hence, Directorate of Health Services has been requested to examine the matter and comment, it further said.
Meanwhile, AMHSDA has refuted the statement of Health & Family Welfare Department issued on Saturday, calling it merely a lame excuse to disintegrate the AMHSDA and confuse the public.
Therefore, AMHSDA will not defer its proposed agitation as notified on January 5, it further stressed.
In a release, AMHSDA Dr Lolee P Mao stated that the initial eight charter of demands of the Association raised to the government were cut down to four on the request of the government and was reaffirmed at the ministerial level on November 18, 2022 .
After neglecting the MHS doctors for more than two years and terming their basic and fundamental rights as unreasonable, unbecoming and illegal by a Home Department order issued on November 17, 2022, the government has changed its tone by claiming sincere efforts for addressing the grievances of the AMHSDA in their release on Friday, it noted.
AMHSDA also claimed that the first BJP government in Manipur had extended doctors' superannuation to 65 years in a notification dated August 30, 2017 and was then rescinded by the same BJP government on January 17, 2020, to victimise one or two doctors and to accommodate one or two as privilege which is hampering health care services and the government should avoid blaming AMHSDA in future for this.
Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) doctors' NPA was granted with arrears and their superannuation age was extended to 65 years.
Thus, as the citizens of the same state all should be treated equally, it mentioned.
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