Govt fails to create posts since 2008
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, June 24: With Government’s total failure in creating posts of dental surgeons in the Union Territory, (UT) of J&K the fate of hundreds of aspirants is uncertain and in jeopardy.
As per sources, the callousness of the successive Governments towards the unemployed dental surgeons who are hankering for the Government jobs for years together has forced them to launch agitation and took to streets to highlight their demand but the authorities at the helm of affairs are not taking pains in settling the issue.
Sources said hundreds of unemployed dental surgeons are on streets demanding jobs for them. The protestors have sought the intervention of Lt Governor Manoj Sinha as well as Union Home Ministry in settling their issue which is hanging in balance since 2008 after which no posts in J&K were created by successive State as well as present UT Government with the result the number of unemployed dental surgeons swelled to 7000 in the UT over these years.
Sources said that as per the World Health Organization (WHO) ratio there should be one dental surgeon for 7500 population and in J&K which has a population of 1.30 crore as per the 2011 census the ration of dental surgeon is 1:28000 due to which the people in the UT can’t get the desired treatment.
Sources said in view of WHO ratio, there should be 1733 dental surgeons in the UT of J&K as compared to its population while their number is only 543 so the UT faces a shortage of over one thousand dental surgeons to cater to the job which the Government failed to fill up since 2008. Moreover, the population of the UT might have increased since census of 2011 and the number of posts of dental surgeons required may be more than what was needed as per 2011 census but the Government is not paying any attention to it.
Sources said the Administrative Department of Health and Medical Education had sent number of proposals for filling up of vacant posts many times to Finance Department but the same was turned down by later due to involvement of financial implications.
The protesting dental surgeons questioned that when the Government had no sources to provide jobs to trained dental surgeons why does not it close the dental colleges in UT and why the fresh students are given admission every year when hundreds of the dental surgeons are sitting idle and are in great desperation.
The protesting dental surgeons delegation also had submitted a memorandum to Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha seeking his immediate intervention towards their plight but to no avail. In their memorandum the Dental Surgeons Association has mentioned that being idle for years together they are at the verge of starvation due to the callousness of the Government as for last 13 years not a single dental surgeon was absorbed in the Government service in the UT of J&K.
The memorandum, while criticising the callousness of Finance Department said that it returned the file for creation of posts twice on the pretext that the Government has no funds for the same while the hundreds posts of dentals surgeons are lying vacant in rural as well as urban areas of the UT fro a long time.
The unemployed dental surgeons also wanted to know when the sister organizations in the Health and Medical Education Department like Medical Ayurvedic, Veterinary and even the posts of para medical staff have been filled up by creating new posts from time to time whey the dental surgeons posts were not created over the years.
In their memorandum to LG the Dental Surgeons had alleged that only 15 percent of them get absorbed in Government services while 70 to 80 percent Assistant Surgeons in Medical Education and Health Services etc get job. It is not known why the dental surgeons always get lop sided treatment? they asked.
The dental surgeons also said that it is not possible for them to open their own clinics which need huge money and they are unable to arrange such an amount as the cost of material, equipments etc has gone up considerably due to unfavourable economic conditions.
Sources said number of times proposals were submitted from the Directorate of Health Services Jammu and Srinagar to the concerned Administrative Departments since 2013 for creation of posts but their fate was confined to dustbin as the Government failed to give creation new posts. On September 2, 2019 the Directorate of Health Service Jammu has submitted a proposal for creation of 273 dental surgeons posts for Jammu region but the same fell through for want of approval from the Finance Department, sources added.
Additional Chief Secretary and Commissioner/Secretary Health and Medical Education Department, Atal Dulloo while candidly admitting that posts of dental surgeons were lying vacant in the UT said Government is finding out via media for filling up the vacant posts. He said the proposals were submitted to Finance Department for granting sanction for creation of new posts number of times but the same was not approved as there was a huge financial implications.
He, however said that his office is taking up the issue again with the Finance Department to get approval for the creation of posts of dental surgeons in the UT. He showed optimism that the issue will be settled.
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