Srinagar, Aug 22: After the Valley, medicos from Jammu have joined the clamour against the Jammu and Kashmir Government’s move to frame a common seniority list of doctors working in Government medical colleges in Srinagar and Jammu regions. The medicos have threatened agitation is the government goes ahead with such a proposal.
The development comes a day after the Medical Faculty Association—an amalgam of faculty members of the Government Medical College and Government Dental College Srinagar—called the government move as an ‘extreme step fraught with dangers’ and urged the government to reconsider the decision or else face stiff resistance.
On Sunday, the Medical Teachers Association—a body of faculty of GMC Jammu and IG Dental College Jammu—lodged a strong protest against the common seniority proposal.
In a faxed statement to Greater Kashmir, the MTA President Dr Tariq Parvez Azad said “to prevent de-recognition of medical colleges in the state, the then state government in 2007 had separated the seniority of the two colleges after threadbare discussion on the issue.”  “This decision also put at rest litigation arising out of transferring faculty from one GMC to another as none from Jammu wanted to go to Srinagar and vice versa for security reasons,” Azad said.
The MTA said the common seniority is being drafted “at the instance of a handful of clever and influential junior faculty members, who are trying backdoor entry into their home institutions where they could otherwise not get selected.” “All of them had taken a conscious decision of applying through the J&K Public Service Commission for the vacant posts in these institutions. Some of them also took advantage of the reservation in particular institutions to get selected,” Azad mentions in a representation, also faxed to Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Commissioner/Secretary Health and Medical Education Department and Commissioner/Secretary, General Administration Department.
The MTA has urged the government “not to fall into the trap of nationalism or other emotional slogans and again create problems in smooth functioning of these institutions.” “No comparison can be drawn in service conditions of faculty in medical education department with any other department as they are directly exposed to general public,” the MTA mentions, making a passionate appeal to the government “to desist from issuing such order and prevent creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and force the faculty to take an agitation path.”
The doctors anger in both regions of the state comes in the wake of an order (898-GAD of 2011) whereby the General Administration Department has on August 8 constituted a committee to decide on the common seniority for two medical colleges of the state—something which has disappointed the Valley-based medicos.
The MFA has already drafted a representation to the state government, asking it to reconsider the decision if it is committed to the progress and prosperity of GMC Srinagar.
The representation puts the 2006 decision on bifurcation of seniority of the two medical colleges, in a proper context. It explains why the step was taken in the first place.
“It was due to non-joining of faculty members of GMC Jammu at GMC Srinagar—who were promoted and posted at GMC Srinagar from 1990 to 2005—that caused a crisis situation at GMC Srinagar. It resulted in acute shortage of faculty positions and de-recognition of post-graduate courses by the Medical Council of India (MCI) in some specialties. As a result, the teaching and patient care got severely affected,” says Dr. Sajad Majid Qazi, the MFA General Secretary. “The MFA pleaded that 61 members of GMC Jammu faculty, who were promoted/appointed on GMC Srinagar posts from 1990 to September 2005 and subsequently posted at GMC Srinagar, have failed to join at GMC Srinagar and managed to get themselves retained at GMC Jammu, thereby blocking the posts and promotions of otherwise eligible faculty members of GMC Srinagar. As a result, faculty members of GMC Srinagar, despite being eligible for promotions, got stagnated and GMC faculty positions got depleted by 50 percent.”
The MFA said the intake capacity of postgraduate/diploma candidates in 2005 at GMC Srinagar dropped to 55/19 as against 108/24 at GMC Jammu. “Since the Government says it is committed to uniform development of all institutions, it must not allow one institution to grow at the cost of other. GMC Srinagar has been the worst hit so far,” it argued.
Finally, subsequent to a cabinet decision of 2nd March 2006, chaired by then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, the government separated the seniority of two medical colleges of the state vide order no 123 dated 3 March 2006, with an option to choose either of the two colleges. This has been exercised since.

IMPLICATIONS OF COMMON SENIORITY
The medicos believe that the common seniority move was only aimed at “favouring some blue-eyed faculty members as promotions against faculty positions of GMC Srinagar vide Departmental Promotion Committee are due.”
“This is sheer injustice. It is an attempt to favour blue eyed faculty members and rob us off our newly created super specialty posts,” Dr Sajad told Greater Kashmir. “It is an extreme move. It would cause further stagnation of eligible faculty members of GMC Srinagar and also lead to depletion of positions. This can in turn cause the possibility of MCI de-recognition of GMC Srinagar, which we can’t allow.”

MEDICOS MEET MINISTER, LAW SECRETARY
The Valley-based medicos Monday met the Minister for Medical Education, RS Chib and Secretary Law Department in connection with the issue.
Source said the doctors apprised them about the ‘consequences’ of the common seniority move, arguing that “it was detrimental for the growth and prosperity of GMC Srinagar.”
It has been reliably learnt that the Minister assured to “look into” the issue while a similar kind of assurance was made by the Law Secretary, who is a member of the committee constituted by GAD.

Who’s behind the move?
STIFF opposition to the common seniority move by medicos from both Kashmir and Jammu regions has raised many eyebrows. While the Valley-based medicos argue that the move was aimed at “favouring certain blue-eyed doctors”, their Jammu counterparts say it was being done at the instance of a handful of clever and influential junior faculty members, who are trying backdoor entry into their home institutions where they could otherwise not get selected.”

Lastupdate on : Mon, 22 Aug 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:00:00 IST