SUIBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, March 13: The Patna High Court’s order regarding the biometric attendance of doctors seems to have put the Jharkhand government on the back foot to review the demand of the state’s agitating medical officers for delinking biometric attendance with salary payment.
Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) (health) of Jharkhand Arun Kumar Singh at a meeting with representatives of the Jharkhand Health Service Association (JHSA) and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) assured to issue a notification for delinking the biometric attendance with the salary of doctors.
The Patna High Court has recently ruled that the salary of doctors can’t be withheld in default of making biometric attendance alone.
The court of Justice SN Jha while hearing the petition of Samastipur sadar hospital surgeon Dr Ashok Vardhan Sahay ordered on January 23, 2023, that the commission (court) fully approves the biometric attendance system and this should be made applicable to all employees including gazetted employees irrespective of their grade and status. “But the salary can’t be held on basis of biometric attendance as it is not provided in rules,” said the court.
The HC also observed that special nature of duties and the fact that doctors are required to work during night hours too, the system of the biometric attendance is not practicable.
Notably, the surgeon of Samastipur Dr Sahay moved to Patna HC when the government held up his salary for eight months on the basis of biometric attendance.
Government doctors of Jharkhand are also facing similar problems with the biometric attendance system.
In the wake of doctors’ proposed indefinite work boycott call from Monday (March 13), the ACS health called the JHSA, and IMA representatives on Saturday for a talk at 3.30 PM and assured them to delink the biometric attendance with the salary of doctors.
Besides the ACS, joint secretary Alok Trivedi, Vidya Sagar ‘Pankaj’, under secretary PN Sharma took part in the meeting while JHSA secretary Dr Thakur Mritunjay Kumar Singh, treasurer Dr Stephen Xess, IMA state secretary Dr Pradip Kumar Singh and IMA Ranchi secretary Dr Shambhu Prasad represented the doctors’ bodies.
Sources said at the meeting the ACS expressed surprise over whether any notification from the government has been attached salary payment of doctors with the biometric attendance.
But when JHSA and IMA delegates informed the ACS health that joint secretary of the government Jay Bihari Prasad had issued such a notification in this regard in 2022 making biometric attendance mandatory for salary from December 1, 2022, the ACS immediately termed it impractical for doctors who don’t have fixed hours of duty in wake of an emergency.
Sources said the ACS health initiated a step on March 11 for averting the proposed strike of doctors in the wake of JHSA secretary Dr Thakur Mritunjay Kumar Singh’s statement (on March 10) that medicos do not want stir and not shying away from making biometric attendance. The doctors’ only demand is to delink the biometric attendance with salary.
