Jammu, June 10: Unable to get any response from MBBS doctors for employment under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Jammu and Kashmir government has enhanced the perks from Rs 19000 to Rs 45000 and relaxed the recruitment norms to fill up the vacancies in far flung areas of the state.
 According to official sources, around 68 posts were lying vacant in various Primary Health Centers, especially in far flung and inaccessible areas, across the state. The vacancies include 41 in Kashmir region and 27 in Jammu.
 “The government has been advertising all these posts every six months but there was hardly any response from the eligible candidates”, sources said adding that unable to fill up the vacancies the state was losing crores of rupees, as financial aid under NRHM, every year.
 Around half a dozen Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) of various districts had sought sanction from the NRHM Directorate to fill up these vacancies by recruiting ISM doctors as temporary arrangement. “However, the move was resisted by the Directorate as it would have been against the norms”, sources claimed.
 Now in order to fill up the vacancies, NRHM directorate has re-advertised the posts relaxing the recruitment norms. The doctors engaged against the available vacancies would be entitled for the monthly remuneration of Rs 45000 instead of Rs 19000 payable earlier.
 “The arrangement has been made in view of the inaccessibility and tough terrain of the areas where the PHCs are located”, Director NRHM Dr Yaspaul Sharma told Greater Kashmir.
 He said that a MBBS doctor from anywhere in the state could be appointed against the available vacancy and “the domicile restriction has been relaxed”. He added that even the retired doctors with maximum age limit of 65 year will be eligible for the appointment.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 10 Jun 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 10 Jun 2012 18:30:00 GMT
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