319 posts eliminated in Chandigarh Health Department: Director‑Registrar chairs lapse, outcome of lack of regular recruitment, proposal sent to Health Ministry.

The health department of Chandigarh is bearing the consequences of bringing officials on deputation from other states while neglecting regular recruitment. The department has 319 positions that have become vacant (lapsed). Surprisingly, these include not only nursing, paramedical, and other staff positions but also key administrative posts such as the Director and Registrar of GMC H‑32. The lack of regular appointments to these posts for about 15 to 20 years has affected the administrative and medical framework of both large government hospitals. A proposal has now been sent to the Health Ministry to reinstate these positions.

In GMC H‑32, a total of 129 positions have lapsed, including the Director and Registrar posts as well as 34 faculty and professor‑level positions. Additionally, 93 nursing and paramedical staff positions have become vacant. Because regular appointments have not been made, doctors deputed from other states are being assigned important responsibilities such as department head and store in‑charge. There have also been long‑standing rumors of manipulation regarding important posts and responsibilities within the hospital.

In GMS H‑16, the lapse of regular recruitment has led to 190 vacant positions, including 59 Nursing Officer posts and 131 positions for doctors, paramedical staff, and ministry‑grade employees. Staff allege that recruitment files were kept pending in the rush to bring favored officials and employees on deputation. This has impacted the hospital’s health services and the facilities available to patients.

According to government rules, a post is considered “deemed abolished” (i.e., terminated) if it remains vacant for three consecutive years. The rationale is that if a post remains unfilled for three years without regular appointment, it is deemed unnecessary. Under this rule, a total of 319 posts across both hospitals have been terminated.

Three major reasons for the lack of recruitment: lack of recommendations – the UT administration did not receive timely medical officer recommendations from Punjab and Haryana to fill vacant deputation posts; OBC policy issue – the Chandigarh administration’s OBC category policy prevented UPSC from completing the recruitment process for this category; pending amendment of service rules (RR) – after the central pay scale was implemented in March 2023, essential changes to the recruitment and service rules remained stalled for a long time.

The Health Ministry’s decision is awaited; the proposal to reinstate the 190 terminated positions in GMS H‑16 has already been approved by the Finance Department. This includes 59 Nursing Officer posts and 131 positions for paramedical and ministry‑grade staff. The matter has now been forwarded to the Health Ministry to revive all terminated posts. Only after the Ministry’s approval will the reinstatement of these posts and the path to regular recruitment become clear.