TN Health Department initiates bond recovery from doctors who left Govt service

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Health Department has begun recovering security bond amounts from doctors who allegedly left government service after availing all service-linked benefits.

Officials stated that out of 10 doctors who had absconded from government hospitals in Tenkasi in recent years, three have recently paid their bond amounts, while the remaining doctors are reportedly in the process of making payments. However, in Tirunelveli and other southern districts, none of the absconding doctors has cleared their bond amount so far.

According to the Medical Buyer, all of these doctors had benefited from structured government incentives designed to strengthen public healthcare delivery. These included 50% reservation in postgraduate, super-specialty, or diploma seats, 30% incentive marks in NEET-PG, a full monthly salary during the three-year course period, and three years of leave while retaining government seniority. In return, they had signed security bonds committing to serve in government health institutions. Despite this, more than 500 doctors across Tamil Nadu have reportedly left government service to enter private practice.

The issue of non-recovery of bond amounts had been under scrutiny for some time. According to The New Indian Express, since 2023 about administrative delay in collecting dues from such doctors. A list of 200 absconding doctors was recovered through an RTI application, as several health institutions declined to share information.

Health department sources indicated that among those who paid in Tenkasi are a senior assistant surgeon who now runs one of the largest hospitals in the district, an assistant surgeon who reportedly established a scan centre opposite the Government District Headquarters Hospital from where she had left service, and a civil surgeon operating a clinic in Sankarankovil. Two of them paid Rs 20 lakh each, while another paid Rs 5 lakh. Officials added that show-cause notices are yet to be issued to two orthopaedic specialists.

While some doctors in the past had voluntarily paid the bond amount to secure departmental clearance, this marks the first instance of the state invoking the Revenue Recovery Act to enforce payment from absconding doctors.