Incentives for professors in civic-run hospitals set to become a reality soon

The ‘diligent’ assistant professors teaching in civic-run hospitals and medical colleges will no longer have to languish to receive ‘incentives.’ This comes after fighting a legal battle both before the Bombay High Court as well as the Supreme Court of India, for more than seven months.

Now, after facing embarrassment in the SC, Ajoy Mehta, Municipal Commissioner, himself assured the Bombay High Court recently, that a new policy to grant incentives to medical professors, would be framed by next month.

The commissioner made the statement only after being pulled up and summoned to remain presently personally, by a division bench of Justice Shantanu Kemkar and Justice Nitin Sambre.

The bench had in April summoned Mehta and I Kundan, the Director of Medical Education and Major Hospitals over their failure in implementing an order passed in October 2017. The order passed by another bench headed by Justice Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari had specifically asked the BMC to frame a new policy to grant incentives to assistant professors working in civic-run hospitals and medical institutions.

Even then, the civic body was pulled up as it had made an attempt to pass the buck to the government. Then the BMC had told the bench that it would readily implement the scheme, if any, is framed by the government. The bench had then said that the civic body cannot let professors stagnate till it awaits a decision from the government. The bench had said, “Granting incentives and benefits would promote efficiency and will also encourage those who are working honestly and diligently by putting in extra hours or exert themselves more for better results.”

Since this order was passed, the BMC failed to submit a draft of the scheme, it was asked to frame, despite getting chance at least eight times. Moreover, the civic body challenged the order in Apex Court which rejected their plea.

Now, on June 13, Mehta along with Kundan appeared personally before Justice Kemkar’s bench and assured the court that he would frame a policy by next month and would also file an affidavit in his personal capacity.

Taking his assurance on record, the judges in their order said, “Let the scheme along with an affidavit be filed by the Commissioner before the next date of hearing.”

The matter would next be heard on July 4.