Non-practising allowance for govt docs may go

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 26

The cash-strapped Punjab Government may stop or decrease the non-practising allowance (NPA) given to government doctors. Over 5,000 doctors’ pay will be reduced once the decision comes into effect.

Marking a communique by the Finance Department as “most urgent” on October 23, Director, Health Services, Dr Rajiv Bhalla has asked all Civil Surgeons (district heads of the Health Department) and other senior doctors to calculate the financial burden borne due to the NPA payment to doctors.

As per the communique, the district functionaries of the Health Department were asked to furnish information such as the total number of doctors working in the district; and the district-wise monthly and yearly expenditure on the NPA for the financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17. They were also asked to give details of the NPA paid in the past month. The deadline for the same was October 25.

Dr Bhalla said the information was sought by the Finance Department.

A senior health functionary, who wished not to be named, said the Finance Department was exploring the possibility of reducing the NPA burden on the government. Among the options are discontinuing it across the board; stopping it only for senior doctors; or reducing it for all categories of doctors.

Sources in the Finance Department said the final call would be taken after the Health Department submitted the details.

Sources said there were widespread allegations of government doctors indulging in private practice.

More than 4,000 doctors working with the Health Department and around 1,000 with the Rural Development Department are entitled to NPA. In Punjab, government doctors get 25 per cent of their basic pay as NPA. As per an estimate, a government doctor gets Rs 20,000 as this allowance. The total bill the state government has to bear comes out to be around Rs 100 crore annually.

Earlier this year, the NDA government had notified a 5% reduction in NPA for doctors working with Central Government hospitals.