Deployment of senior medical officers: Dhanbad district administration throws govt order to wind

SUBHASH MISHRA

Dhanbad Aug. 29:  Dhanbad district administration has thrown order of the State Government to the wind over unauthorized transfer and deployment of senior medical officers of the health department.

The state government had in January cancelled the district administration’s transfer and deployment order of the senior medical officers and directed it to send all of them ( doctors of the health department) to their original place and post with immediate effect. But surprisingly even after eight months of the government order, the district administration is still sitting on the file.

In September 2020, the district administration transferred senior regular medical officers and deployed junior contractual medical officers on senior post in the health department in violation of the state health department manuals.

A senior official of the state government said the district administration has no authority to transfer medical officers of the health department. It could transfer only after taking permission from the secretary, health department and the health ministry.

However getting information, the state government took the action of the Dhanbad district administration seriously and directed it to cancel the order immediately.

Deputy secretary of state government Seema Kumari Udaypuri on   January 29, 2021, shot off a letter to the deputy commissioner (DC) and said that district administration had transferred the medical officers without taking the permission.
“ So, cancel the transfer and deployment order of senior medical officers and inform the state government about it immediately. If there is need of a doctor at any health centre of the district for maintaining smooth health services, recommend it to the health department,” said the deputy secretary.

But even after eight months of state government directive,  the district administration has not cancelled its order. Contractual doctors are still holding higher posts while senior permanent medical officers are on the junior post.

A senior officer of the district health department said that the contractual doctors who have been elevated to higher post were appointed under rural health mission (RHM) to arrest mother mortality rate (MMR) and infant mortality rate (IMR), but they have been placed in general health.

A senior officer of the district administration said that when state government order had come, Umashankar Singh was deputy commissioner (DC).  Present DC Sandip Singh has assumed office hardly one month ago and the file has not been put up before him so far, he added.