Haryana Govt Partially Accepts Striking Doctors Demands

The Haryana government has partially accepted the demands of striking doctors, agreeing to reduce the bond amount for postgraduate courses and form a specialist cadre for doctors.

The Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMS), representing government doctors in the state, announced on Monday that the state government has agreed to some of their demands and provided positive assurances regarding the remaining ones. The doctors' body expressed optimism about a favorable resolution to all their demands, which include the formation of a specialist cadre for doctors, a reduction in the bond amount for postgraduate courses, a dynamic assured career progression (ACP) scheme on par with central government doctors, and an end to the direct recruitment of senior medical officers (SMOs).

Marathon Meeting with Health Department Officials

A senior HCMS office-bearer disclosed that they had an extensive meeting with health department officials, including the Additional Chief Secretary Health and the Director General of Health Services, on Monday evening in Chandigarh. The meeting lasted for two and a half hours, and the doctors described it as positive.

Progress on Two Demands

HCMS general secretary Dr. Anil Yadav reported that the government assured them that two of their demands would be fulfilled promptly. Firstly, the bond amount for postgraduate courses would be reduced from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 50 lakh, and a file to this effect would be processed soon. Secondly, the government agreed to stop the direct recruitment of SMOs, a demand that had previously faced resistance from the department.

Addressing the Specialist Cadre Demand

Regarding the demand for a specialist cadre, Dr. Yadav explained that they had submitted relevant documents to the health department, which would review them to assess their feasibility.

Remaining Demands and Next Steps

The HCMS general secretary stated that discussions were ongoing with the government, and another round of talks would be held soon. He emphasized that they could only determine their next course of action after all rounds of negotiations were completed.

The HCMS had previously threatened to launch an indefinite strike and shut down all services if their demands were not met. With the state government's positive response to some of their demands and assurances regarding the others, the doctors' body remains hopeful of a fruitful resolution to their concerns.