Punjab, BFUHS told to recast merit list of PG medical courses

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday directed the Punjab government and Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot, to recast merit list for admission to postgraduate medical courses by granting benefit of service in remote areas to rural medical officers, who are working under the panchayati raj department.

A bench held that the restriction of granting of incentive for service in remote/ difficult areas only to in-service regular Punjab Civil Medical Services PCMS/ PCMS (dental) doctors and not granting the same benefit to rural medical officers is illegal and violates Medical Council of India regulations

The regulations say all doctors in government service were entitled for an incentive of 10% marks (in addition to total marks obtained in NEET-National Eligibility Test) for each year’s experience /service in remote and difficult areas, with a maximum of 30% marks for three-year experience/service.

The notification for the examination was done in October 2016 and exam held in January 2017. The BFUHS has already conducted first counselling from April 13 to 15.

The Punjab government had given the benefit of incentive marks only to the PCMS medical/dental doctors. The notification was silent regarding grant of such incentive marks to those doctors who were seeking admission to PG medical courses in private institutions, advocate, HC Arora said.

The bench of justices Rajesh Bindal and HS Sidhu observed that Punjab government instead of granting incentive on a graded scale commensurate with the length of service, adopts an “all or nothing approach”.

“This leaves out of consideration a large section of such in-service doctors who on strength of the regulation may have opted for service in remote/ difficult areas in the expectation of getting the benefit of the incentive,” the bench said. HTC

DOCTORS IN GOVT SERVICE ARE ENTITLED TO 10% MARKS FOR EACH YEAR’S EXPERIENCE IN REMOTE AND DIFFICULT AREAS