SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Aug 10: A long pending seniority list of government medical officers will be issued in a month.
Jharkhand Health Service Association (JHSA) state secretary Dr Thakur Mritunjay Kumar Singh today claimed that the state government has already prepared separate seniority lists of MBBS, specialist doctors, and dentists of the state and it would be issued in a month.
Seniority list under vigilance scrutiny
“Lists of all three cadres have been sent for vigilance verification. After getting the clearance, the seniority list of MBBS, specialist doctors and dentists would be officially announced and based on it, transfer-posting would done,” said Dr Thakur.
No health cadre in Jharkhand
Jharkhand is perhaps the only state in the country that has not been able to decide the seniority of its medical officers even after 24 years of formation as a new state.
To date, the seniority of the 1988 batch medical officer (present director in-chief health of state) Dr CK Shahi and newly appointed medical officer Dr DK Singh is equal.
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While reacting over the allegation of some senior medical officers that the JHSA and the IMA are silent on arbitrary transfers and demotion of doctors by the health department, the JHSA secretary said that the medical officers’ body (JHSA) is not silent albeit it has been continuously engaged in implementing long pending due of doctors, including seniority and other.
“Once the seniority list of MBBS, specialists and dentists is decided, the promotion and transfer would be done on that basis. The government has assured us,” he added.
Notably, resentment has prevailed among medical officers of the state over the whimsical transfers and demotion of doctors in six months by the government.
IMA calls an emergent meeting on Sunday
In the meantime, the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Jharkhand, has taken serious note of the demotion and transfer of senior doctors in six months by the state government.
The IMA has called an emergent meeting of executive committee members, the president, secretary of all 24 districts at Ranchi on Sunday (August 11) to discuss controversial decisions taken by the state government regarding the medical fraternity.
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The emergent meeting has been called on short notice. The notice of the meeting was issued on Saturday jointly by President Dr AK Singh, Vice-President RS Das, Secretary Dr Pradeep Kumar Singh and Treasurer Dr BP Kashyap.
The IMA has also invited JHSA executive members to the meeting.
A senior medical officer giving this information said that the IMA woke up when much water had flown into the Harmu (Ranchi) River.