The Himachal Pradesh government announced on Thursday that no Non-Practicing Allowance (NPA) will be provided to doctors hired in the Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education, Dental, Ayush and Animal Husbandry departments of the state. This news sparked an outcry from medical and veterinary associations who refuted the rule and termed it “anti-people”, maintaining that the notification should be pulled back.
The announcement stated that these doctors will not have access to the allowance regardless of their future recruitment, causing the Himachal Medical Association to label the decision as “anti-people”. Doctors in the state are subject to different duties from others, and have been dedicated to their patients despite the risks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The veterinary doctors had similar opinions, with the Himachal Pradesh Veterinary Officers Association demanding that the notification be retracted as this decision undermines the organizations and in turn harms the interests of the farmers. The NPA, as per the state government earlier, was adjusted from 25% to 20% of base pay and it is now being denied to the future doctors.
Overall, the introduction and enforcement of this policy has outraged the state’s medical and veterinary associations and is bad for the interests of farmers. It is yet to be seen whether the state will put forth any solutions to alleviate the demands of associations.
