The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Vinai Kumar Saxena, has finally sanctioned the promotion of 295 Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) working in the state-run hospitals. This decision marks the culmination of a long-pending process. However, the promotion of one Medical Superintendent has been put on hold due to allegations of sexual harassment against him.
The approval came from the LG’s office, which emphasized that since taking office, Saxena has been steadfast in ensuring the timely resolution of government employees’ welfare issues, particularly regarding promotions, service matters, cadre restructuring, and recruitment.
In pursuance of his avowed objective to improve the career progression and service conditions of government employees, Saxena approved the promotion of the 295 CMOs to Pay Band-4, which carries a salary scale of Rs 37,400-67,000 with grade pay Rs 8,700 according to the Delhi Health Service (Allopathy) Rules, 2009. The promotion orders had been pending for quite some time.
Of the 302 CMOs considered for promotion, 295 were found eligible, while the promotion of a Medical Superintendent at Maharishi Valmiki Hospital was deferred. The deferral came after a female doctor accused him of sexual harassment. Additionally, one case was withheld pending the outcome of an ongoing vigilance inquiry, and six others did not meet the promotion criteria.
Saxena has been a strong advocate for timely promotions, better pension schemes, and improved service conditions for the government employee. He has often underlined that such measures not only boost morale and employee efficiency but also help prevent career fatigue caused by prolonged stagnation.
In a separate initiative, Saxena ordered the Delhi police to be watchful in redressing grievances about illegal immigrants coming to the city. On November 16, the office of the Lieutenant Governor issued a directive for a month-long drive to identify such immigrants. The letter mailed to key authorities such as the Chief Secretary and Police Commissioner listed the concern that illegal immigrants might use forged documents for identification cards like Aadhar and Election Identity Cards.The issuance of such documents to unauthorized individuals, especially the right to vote, was deemed unacceptable and potentially dangerous for national security. The LG’s office urged extra vigilance in verifying the identities of individuals applying for these documents.
With inputs from ANI.