ayush doctor bihar

HC directive delays appointment of Ayush docs
Nishant Sinha, May 11, 2011, 03.50am IST

PATNA: Appointments to fill up the 196 vacant posts of Ayush doctors under SC and ST categories in the state has got further delayed with the Patna High Court (HC) recently passing an interim order staying the appointment process till further directive.

An Ayush practitioner, Dr Jai Prakash Singh, had lodged a case in the HC alleging that the panel prepared by the state health department in 2010 for the appointment of 1,574 Ayush doctors in the state was full of discrepancies. The state government has been made a respondent in the case.

The state government had in 2008 placed advertisements to appoint 1,574 Ayush doctors primarily to make operational the additional primary health centres (APHCs) in the state. In 2010, on the basis of a written examination conducted by the Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board, 1,378 Ayush doctors were appointed while 196 posts under SC and ST categories remained vacant. The health department sources said that appointments were not made against the remaining posts due to non-availability of candidates.
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However, the Bihar Ayush Medical Association alleged largescale irregularities in the preparation of the panel as undeserving candidates were appointed. The term of the panel, which was to expire on December 31, 2010, was extended till March 31, 2011, and then again extended for the second time for a month. The panel was first released on February 16, 2010.

The state government`s move to streamline the APHCs across the state notwithstanding, the Bihar chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has taken exception to the appointment of Ayush doctors at APHCs where they have been authorized to prescribe allopathic medicines to patients. The IMA has contended that shortage of doctors has forced the government to appoint Ayush doctors while the only way out to reverse the situation is to appoint greater number of allopathic doctors or increase their retirement age.

The IMA also said that there was no provision for appointment of Ayush doctors at health sub-centres under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

Earlier, the government had ordered an inquiry into the 'merit' of the panel prepared for the appointment of Ayush doctors.
source TOI.11/05/11