Himachal veterinary doctors oppose reduction in allowance, go on strike

Advertisement

Shimla, February 10

Veterinary doctors across Himachal began a pen-down strike from today to protest the reduction in non-practising allowance (NPA). The call for the strike given by the Himachal Pradesh Veterinary Officers Association, along with a joint front of doctors of all categories of veterinarians, evoked an overwhelming response and the veterinary services were hit.

The government has decreased the limit of fixing the basic pay plus NPA to Rs 2,18,000 in the revised pay scales of Sixth Pay Commission which is less than Punjab. In Punjab, the limit fixed is Rs 2,37,600, said president Dr Neeraj Mohan.

The government follows Punjab in terms of scales and allowances but this time, it had been reduced and veterinarians were in extreme despair due to the reduction. The government had also stopped the assured career promotion scheme (ACPS) and reduced the NPA from 25 per cent of basic pay to 20 per cent, he rued.

Dr Madhur Gupta, general secretary, HPVOA, said the veterinarians had worked for the welfare of livestock farmers and contributed to increasing the farmer income during Covid and were expecting extended benefits for them.

The veterinarians of the State Animal Husbandry Department did not have much scope of promotion and were depending on ACPS and other compensations by the government, but the pay commission had done away with these mechanisms, said Dr Gupta.

The HPVOA asked the government to restore the ACPS , failing which they would be forced to intensify their agitation.

NURPUR: Doctors in the Civil Hospital started a two-hour pen down strike from Thursday. The OPD services remained affected. The doctors started the week-long strike in protest against the failure of the state government to increase the pay ceiling limit as per recommendations of Punjab’s Sixth Pay Commission.

Led by Dr Sushil Sharma, press secretary, who is also medical superintendent in the hospital, the doctors lodged their protest over reducing the non-practising allowance (NPA) from 25 to 20 per cent causing a loss of Rs 19,000 to Rs 25,000. The agitating doctors demanded parity in the pay scale of the contractual and regular doctors.