Haryana miffed over Chandigarh hiring medical officers from Punjab, other states - Hindustan Times
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Haryana miffed over Chandigarh hiring medical officers from Punjab, other states

ByMandeep Kaur Narula, Chandigarh
Jul 06, 2022 03:05 AM IST

The Haryana government has urged the Chandigarh administration to maintain the 60:40 ratio between Punjab and Haryana while filling up the vacant posts of medical officers

The UT administration’s decision to appoint 33 medical officers (MOs) on deputation from Punjab, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh, and none from Haryana has not gone down well with the Haryana government.

Chandigarh administration had recently appointed 30 medical officers on deputation from Punjab, two from Himachal Pradeshand one from Delhi, while hiring none from Haryana. (HT)
Chandigarh administration had recently appointed 30 medical officers on deputation from Punjab, two from Himachal Pradeshand one from Delhi, while hiring none from Haryana. (HT)

Highlighting its displeasure through a letter, the Haryana government has urged the UT administration to maintain the 60:40 ratio between Punjab and Haryana while filling up the vacant posts of MOs and dental surgeons.

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In his letter to UT health secretary Yashpal Garg, Haryana health secretary Rajeev Arora said, “The 60:40 ratio of deployment of doctors is not being maintained between Punjab and Haryana. More weightage is being provided to doctors from Punjab, whereas a definite ratio should be maintained as per a Union government order. A panel of 44 MOs was sent in May while that of the dental surgeons will be sent shortly.”

The letter came after the UT administration recently appointed 30 MOs (21 allopathic and nine dental surgeons) on deputation from Punjab, two from Himachal Pradesh and one from Delhi to meet the staff shortage in the health department.

Of the 164 total seats of MOs in the UT, around 70 were lying vacant in February this year, when UT adviser Dharam Pal had asked the health secretary to seek fresh panels of eligible doctors, including senior medical officers, medical officers and dental surgeons, for deputation from Punjab and Haryana.

Following this, the UT health secretary had sought panels from Punjab and Haryana, but in the wake of delay in their response, the officer had written for panels from the central government and other UTs, while a request was also sent to the UPSC for direct recruitments.

Eventually in April, the Punjab government sent a panel of 30 MOs (allopathic) and 12 MOs (dental) to the UT administration. Besides, one MO from Delhi and two from Himachal Pradesh also applied and showed up for interviews. Till then, Haryana had not sent any panel of doctors.

“The health department was facing acute shortage of MOs in dispensaries, civil hospitals and GMSH-16. When asked for sending a panel, Haryana did not respond, forcing us to appoint doctors from other states. Till appointment of doctors from Punjab, Delhi and HP, no panel was recommended by Haryana. They finally sent a panel of 44 doctors on May 10. Their interviews are scheduled on July 13,” said Garg.

He said, “At present, around 30 MO seats are lying vacant. Those eligible out of the 44 doctors will be appointed. We always give preference to Punjab and Haryana, but due to Haryana’s delay in response, we had no other option than to call doctors from other states.”

The UT health department had also sought a panel of nurses and pharmacists from Punjab and Haryana for appointment on deputations, and has not received any response in this regard.

This is not Haryana’s first complaint regarding the ratio not being maintained.

In May this year, raising objections over the issue, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had written to Punjab governor-cum-UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit, stating that the UT administration had been largely dominated by officers from the UT cadre, who had also grabbed the most important posts, thereby directly affecting the interest of Haryana and Punjab.

Punjab had also voiced opposition over same issue, stating that the UT and the Centre were “overlooking” its claim to many posts.

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