Dental surgeons launch stir, wear black badges

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rewari, August 13

Dental surgeons today launched a four-day agitation across the state by wearing black badges to register their protest against the Finance Department for not approving their long-standing demands even after five years.

The protesters asserted that the then Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had accepted their demands in 2014 and had sent the file to the Finance Department for the final nod. But the file was gathering dust there and the department was not paying heed towards it, causing acute resentment among dental surgeons.

“We are demanding change in nomenclature of the post of Dental Surgeon to Medical Officer (Dental), creation of a new promotional post of Deputy Civil Surgeon (Dental) at the district level and Deputy Director Dental at the state headquarters, six increments on entry of dental specialist in service on a par with Medical Officers and special allowance to the Dental Surgeon posted in Mewat Area,” said Dr Inderjeet Yadav, chief of the Haryana Civil Dental Surgeon’s Association (HCDSA).

Yadav informed that dental surgeons in neighbouring states and at the Centre are getting regular promotions and four assured career progressions (ACPs) but in Haryana, they are getting three ACPs with a ceiling of 25 per cent of cadre in the second ACP and 20 per cent of the cadre in the third ACP. Similarly, dental surgeons in Haryana are promoted as Senior Dental Surgeon after 18 years of service. Hence, most of dental surgeons retire on same post as merely 22 posts of Senior Dental Surgeon are available in the state, he added.

“Our agitation will continue across the state till August 17. We will decide on the further course of action if the authorities do not take any positive step on our demands soon,” he said.