Primary health centre head in Moga appointed without advertising post ›

Exmoga chief medical officer junks the rulebook, resigns from her post as well

Rules for selection change frequently. During the tenure of Husan Lal, the then managing director, NHM, and Vini Mahajan, the then principal secretary, health, all CMOS were verbally authorised to select medical officers. DR MANINDER MINHAS, former Moga CMO

MOGA: Ignoring due process and in violation of rules, former Moga chief medical officer Dr Maninder Kaur Minhas handpicked a retired MBBS doctor and made him a medical officer at Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) at Duneke village in an unauthorised manner. Minjas resigned from her post on August 31 with Dr Naresh Gupta, retired assistant civil surgeon (ACS), Moga, being appointed as the medical officer on September 1.

The state health department has opened the UPHCS under the Centre’s National Health Mission (NHM) programme to provide healthcare to people who cannot go to a district hospital. Free medicines are provided.

NO ADVERTISEMENT GIVEN FOR DOC’S POST Under the NHM rules, to appoint a medical officer at the UPHC, an ad needs to be given in newspapers. A notice also needs to be put up on the premises of the civil hospital and other public places for an interview. In this case, none of these was done. The mandatory three-member committee of the CMO, the deputy medical commissioner and the district programme manager that the deputy commissioner must head was also not formed.

Dr Minhas appointed Dr Gupta just on the basis of a request letter that he gave to her. Moga district programme manager Dr Vinesh Nagpal confirmed that Dr Minhas did not form any committee. “I only know that CMO (Dr Minhas) had not formed any committee and issued direct appointment letter to Dr Naresh Gupta,” he said.

APPOINTMENT LETTER NOT SENT TO MC

HT has a copy of the appointment letter. “The appointment was not sent to the managing director of the NHM, even as Dr Gupta joined duty from September 1,” a senior doctor claimed.

“You are hereby given the offer of appointment as medical officer full-time under the National Urban Health Mission, 01-09-2017 (September 1, 2017) on contract on a consolidated remuneration of ₹35,000 per month initially up to 31-03-2018 (March 31, 2018) and posted at Urban PHC Duneke district Moga,” the appointment letter states.

Dr Surinder Setia, DMC-CUMCMO Moga said Dr Minhas was an experienced officer having worked as the Jalandhar CMO for two years. “She (Dr Minhas) must be knowing her powers. How can she do this,” he said.

When contacted, Dr Maninder Minhas claimed that there were instructions to appoint a candidate against a vacant post. “Why would I flout the rules? What is my interest? Rules for selection change frequently. During the tenure of Husan Lal — the then managing director, NHM, and Vini Mahajan, the then principal secretary, health — CMOS were verbally authorised to select medical officers,” she claimed.