Dr Rakesh Kashyap is new UT DHS

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 3

Dr Rakesh Kumar Kashyap is the new Director, Health Services (DHS), Chandigarh. UT Administrator and Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore approved the appointment this evening, a top UT officer told The Tribune.

Dr Kashyap, at present posted as Joint Director in the Punjab DHS office, will replace Dr Vanita Gupta, who superannuated on September 30.

“A formal order to this effect has been issued,” the UT officer disclosed.

Dr Kashyap was selected from a panel of five senior Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) doctors of the rank of Additional and Joint Director sent by the state government to the UT Administration last month.

Besides Dr Kashyap, the Punjab Government had included the names of Nirlep Kaur, Chandesh Mahindru (both on deputation with the UT), Harinder Kaur (Civil Surgeon in Fatehgarh Sahib) and Balwinder Singh (Civil Surgeon in Sangrur) in the panel.

An eye specialist, the new UT DHS said his priority would be to improve the maternal and child health care system in the city to further decrease maternal and infant mortality rates. “I will also try to work out a strategy to reduce patient load on tertiary care hospitals in the city and further improve the referral system,” Dr Kashyap told The Tribune.

Another focus area of the new UT DHS would be public health education to help check the spread of seasonal viral diseases such as dengue and chikungunya, which are spreading tentacles in and around the city these days.

After joining the Punjab health services as a medical officer in 1981, Dr Kashyap remained the in-charge of several leading civil hospitals in the state, including Kharar and Banur. He also served as the State Chemical Examiner from October 2012 to May 2014.

Due to retire on October 31 next year, Dr Kashyap, in the past, never served on deputation in the UT during his career spanning over 35 years.

“I will join the new assignment after I am relieved by my parent state,” the new UT Health Department boss said.

Punjab’s claim

It was after the intervention of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in 2015 that the post of the DHS in the Chandigarh Administration had returned to Punjab. Badal had urged the then UT Administrator, Shivraj Vishwanath Patil, to appoint a Punjab doctor to head the Health Department in the city.

Citing the 60:40 arrangement between Punjab and Haryana followed for postings in the UT, Badal had opposed the elevation of Dr Rajeev Vadhera of Haryana to the coveted post of the DHS, though on a temporary basis, at that time.

“The Chandigarh Administration had arbitrarily chosen to ignore the panel of doctors of the rank of Deputy/Additional Director sent by Punjab Government in April 2012 for appointment to the post of the DHS and instead, it had appointed an officer from the Haryana cadre, Dr Rajeev Vadhera, with additional charge,” Badal had mentioned, while strongly objecting to what he termed depriving doctors from Punjab cadre of their right.