Himachal abolishes Non-Practicing Allowance for doctors; medical and veterinary bodies call move ‘anti-people’

PTI

Shimla, May 25

The Himachal Pradesh government on Thursday announced that doctors recruited henceforth across departments, including Health and Family Welfare and Animal Husbandry, will not be entitled to Non-Practicing Allowance (NPA).

The announcement drew a sharp reaction from medical and veterinary associations, who termed it “anti-people” and demanded that the notification be withdrawn.

“The Non-Practicing Allowance (NPA) will not be admissible to all doctors recruited henceforth in Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education, Dental, Ayush and Animal Husbandry departments of the state government,” the official notification stated.

The Himachal Medical Association described the decision as “anti-people”.

The duties of doctors are different from duties discharged by employees of other departments as they serve the patients by risking their own lives and had demonstrated their loyalty to the patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, the association said in a statement issued here.

The Himachal Pradesh Veterinary Officers Association demanded that the government withdraw the notification.

This decision is not in the interest of veterinarians. Resentment among veterinarians would affect the entire animal husbandry sector and harm the interests of farmers, said Dr Neeraj Mohan and Dr Madhur Gupta, president and general secretary of Himachal Pradesh Veterinary Officers Association, respectively.

The state government had earlier reduced the NPA from 25 per cent to 20 per cent of the basic pay and now the NPA is being denied to future doctors, they said.