Have not received a penny in last several months
Irfan Tramboo
SRINAGAR, Mar 20: The Post Graduate and Senior Resident doctors of the Government Medical College, Srinagar, and Associated Hospitals (GMC&AHs) today stated that the authorities are repeatedly failing to ensure the timely release of their stipends and salaries.
As of now, the delay, as per the doctors, has extended into months, with most of the Residents, especially the Senior Residents, awaiting their salaries for the last several months.
The resident doctors, who spoke with Excelsior anonymously, said that despite the essential role they play in healthcare service delivery, they have not received their stipends for the past five months, “impacting their financial stability and morale.”
“The delay has been persistent for the last year. Earlier, the release used to delay till the third week of the month, then it extended into months and currently, there are residents who have not been paid salaries for at least five months,” said one of the Senior Residents.
While the issue is faced by nearly 800 Post Graduates and Senior Residents, it is noteworthy that these doctors also include those who belong to outside J&K, facing immense troubles and struggling to make ends meet despite their hard work away from home.
The doctors informed that they have been in touch with the concerned authorities at the GMC, Srinagar, regarding this matter, and they are repeatedly told that there are no funds, which apparently leads to months of delay.
“If that is the case, how is the rest of the staff getting their salaries on time? The Senior Residents are supposed to get their salary, yet they have been struggling for it for the last several months,” said another PG Resident.
The doctors mentioned that efforts to address the issue, including communication with clerical staff who indicated the generation and completion of the respective bills by the 6th of every month, have proven futile.
“Despite attempts to engage with the Chief Accounts Officer (CAO), no satisfactory explanation has been provided, with requests for patience being the only response due to a lack of funds. An additional application has been submitted to the PMC office for the same with no better response,” they said.
The doctors also highlighted that while the Resident Doctors at SKIMS Soura and the new Medical Colleges receive their salaries promptly, those at GMC Srinagar receive the least compared to their counterparts with consistent delays in payment, “contrary to the NMC guidelines, which mandate that all Post Graduate Residents should be paid equally throughout the State/UT.”
“This shows a total disregard for the welfare of Post Graduate residents and speaks volumes about the non-serious attitude of the GMC administration towards us. We have given them an ultimatum of three days; after that, we would be forced to take harsh steps,” the Residents said.
It is pertinent to mention here that GMC Srinagar annually accommodates over 200 Post Graduate scholars across various clinical and para-clinical departments, with an equal distribution between the Union Territory Quota and the All India Quota.
The Principal GMC Srinagar did not respond to calls from Excelsior. However, it was stated that the matter is being looked into by the CAO, GMC, who was in a meeting when this report was being filed.
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