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The High Court of Patna yesterday observed the government of Bihar as negligent in terms of appointing doctors in the rural areas. The court earlier directed the Chief Secretary to fill the vacancies of doctors in rural and difficult areas to the maximum extent. The issue was before a two judges bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S Kumar, they expressed concern over the huge number of vacancies of doctors in rural areas and high disproportionality as against the doctors in urban areas. The data says of around 8,768 doctor vacancies in Bihar, 5,674 vacancies were either in rural, remote or difficult areas.
The court was hearing a petition challenging the State Government’s decision to not give incentive marks to doctors who had served in rural or difficult areas, for the purposes of determining their merit in the NEET PG examination. In regard to the incentive, the government of Bihar was given discretion to decide on whether to extend such marks for those doctors who are posted in rural or difficult areas.
In April 2020, a single judge bench of the High Court ruled in favour of doctors who had challenged the State's refusal to incorporate these incentives when drawing up merit lists for medical PG courses. The ruling was challenged before the division bench.
The state justified its decision stating that “the merit would stand compromised and would adversely affect the in service doctors posted at urban areas.” But the bench refuted this justification by stating that a welfare state cannot adopt such a stand more so when there is no data which shows absence of doctors or higher percentage of vacancy of the posts in the urban areas. The court stated that ‘Incentivising posting of doctors and other medical staff in the predefined areas must be in the public interest only. It opined that in the event that there are conditions justifying the requirement for such impetuses, at that point the State couldn't and ought not deny such motivator.’
The court further noted that in Bihar a huge number of medical posts in rural areas are lying vacant as doctors are not willing to serve in these areas. In furtherance of filling them the Medical Council of India provided for incentives by adding 10% to 30% in marks of NEET for doctors who serve in such areas. It further bashed the state for having admitted through notifications it issued in 2013 and 2014 the huge vacancies and then denying the provision of incentives to fill in these vacancies.
The court ruled that ‘the power to provide incentives is optional, based on discretion of the state, however if once allowed by the state, it can't turn around and deny such incentive.
The Court dismissed the State's appeals and issued following directions:
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