SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, May 6: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has praised Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for launching various welfare schemes, while also urging him to turn his attention to the long-neglected concerns of the medical community in the state.
IMA Applauds Welfare Schemes, Seeks Focus on Medicos
IMA Jharkhand President Dr. A.K. Singh took to social media on Tuesday to commend the chief minister’s initiatives, such as financial assistance for women, a ₹15 lakh health fund, and a ₹10 lakh insurance scheme for various sections of society. In the same post, he appealed for immediate attention to the unresolved issues faced by doctors across the state.
“IMA Jharkhand congratulates you for these welfare schemes, but same time also requests you to pay attention to perennial problems of doctors of the state. Non-implementation of long pending demands of Medical Protection Act (MPA) and amendments in Clinical Establishment Act (CEA) have plagued doctors to some extent”, posted Dr. Singh.
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Two Key Demands Still Awaiting Implementation
With the chief minister now in his second term (2024–2029), IMA members remain hopeful that their two major demands—the MPA and the CEA amendments—will finally be addressed. Efforts to implement these acts began in 2014 under the Raghubar Das-led government and were continued in 2019 by Hemant Soren’s administration. However, the implementation of these is still pending.
According to doctors, previous attempts to pass the MPA and amend the CEA—similar to measures adopted in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh—were stalled due to technical issues.
A significant breakthrough appeared close on September 25, 2024, when a consensus was reached on a draft proposal in a meeting attended by then Health Minister Banna Gupta, Health ACS Ajay Kumar Singh, representatives from the government, JSHSA and IMA.
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Doctor Questions Govt’s Commitment
“Although Dr. Irfan Ansari has taken over as Health Minister after the assembly elections, the Hemant Soren-led government remains unchanged, and Ajay Kumar Singh still serves as the ACS (Health),” said a senior doctor in Dhanbad.
“With the health portfolio still under the Congress party’s control, the continued delay in implementing just two long-pending demands casts doubt on the government’s sincerity toward the medical community.”
Doctors across Jharkhand now hope that the chief minister’s attention will extend beyond general welfare to the urgent needs of healthcare professionals, whose issues have remained unresolved for nearly a decade.
