Patna: Unhappy with the delay in the three-year mandatory bond service posting, around 500 postgraduate doctors from Government Medical Colleges in Bihar are planning to seek relief from the Patna High Court.
These medicos completed their academic session back in May and their final examination was held back in June. Despite repeated verbal assurances for the last one month, the Government has not yet notified about their postings. The original MBBS mark sheets of these medicos are also with their respective colleges and they will only get those back after completing the bond or paying the Rs 25 lakh bond penalty amount.
Claiming that because of the Bond-service liability they are unable to work anywhere else, these medicos have alleged that the Government is encouraging unemployment. They are also demanding that the Government relaxes the duration of the bond by as many months as it delayed issuing the notification.
The State has a total number of 496 PG degree seats, and 19 PG Diploma Seats under the 50 percent State and Central quota each.
After notifying about the PG bond system back on April 15, 2017, the State had notified for the posting of such doctors first time in August 2020. After the completion of the academic session back in May 2020, the results were declared back in July. Thereafter the session was derailed in 2021 and it got affected by the COVID-19 pandemic when the exams were held in September 2021. Thereafter the results were declared in December 2021 and consequently the postings were notified in February this year.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the postgraduate doctors had demanded for the adjustment of their nine-month waiting period after the scheduled completion of their course in May last year against the mandatory three-year post-PG bond period.
Since the State Health Department had not paid any attention to the doctors regarding the adjustment of the nine-month delay, around PG medicos were planning to approach the Court.
Due to the delay in placement, around 29 doctors were unable to apply to the state health department for posting at government facilities and they had to pay the penalty amount of Rs 25 lakh to the government for breaking their post-PG service bond.
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As per the latest media report by Hindustan Times, similar situation has been created once again since the medicos have not yet received their bond service posting even six months after the completion of their PG medical courses. Around 500 such doctors are now planning to approach the High Court and seek relief.
Speaking about this, a PG medical graduate who pursued MS Orthopaedics from Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH), informed the daily that he has already served a notice to the Government through his counsel back on November 17.
“The 14-day notice period will expire on Saturday (December 3), and we will file the case on Monday (December 5),” added another doctor from 2019-2022 batch who pursued MD course from Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH).
“The government is unnecessarily delaying our posting after we completed our PG courses six months back, in May this year,” said the doctor.
“The government first delayed conducting our examinations, which were finally held in June, when the regulator, National Medical Commission (NMC), stipulates that the period of obtaining MD and MS postgraduate degree shall be three completed years, including the period of examination. It also delayed announcement of our results, which were declared on August 30. We have since been waiting for our posting with the Bihar government,” he further added.
“Our last monthly stipend of ₹82,000, as final year PG students, has stopped since June. The government delay in notifying our posting makes us ineligible for the monthly remuneration of ₹85,000, which we will get as a senior resident doctor during the first year of our three-year bond period. The government is encouraging unemployment because we cannot work anywhere else as our original MBBS marksheet remains with our respective medical colleges till we complete the bond or pay the government ₹25 lakh in lieu of it,” mentioned the doctor.
Another doctor who pursued MD Medicine from NMCH informed that for the last one month the State Health Department had been assuring verbally about issuing the notification within one week.
“The government is playing with our future by delaying in notifying our posting for the bond period. The government should relax the duration of our bond by as many months as it delays notifying our posting beyond our academic session, which ended in May. We should not be made to suffer for no fault of ours,” said added the doctor.