Stop Discrimination against Siddha Doctors, try to regularise them at par with Allopathy ones: Court Tells Govt

The court also observed that there was no separate University for Ayush which comprises Siddha, Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani and Homeopathy, in Tamil Nadu.

Madurai: Responding to a public interest litigation petition which  sought a direction to the Centre and State to allot funds for the development of Siddha medicine, the state high court recently asked the government several questions about the regularisation of such practitioners in the state

A division bench of the court's Madurai bench, comprising, Justices N Kirubakaran and S S Sundar, also posted if the government would reserve at least 50 per cent of the appointments for Siddha doctors under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram.

This comes in light of the fact that while other states employ AYUSH doctors under the centrally run RSBK scheme, in the state of Tamil Nadu only allopathy doctors are appointed.

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Though there were 33 districts in Tamil Nadu, the government has appointed only eight Siddha doctors as district Siddha Medical Officers on regular basis.

"Therefore, the government has to respond as to when it would appoint regular district Siddha Medical Officer in each district," the bench said.

It observed that there was no separate University for Ayush which comprises Siddha, Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani and Homeopathy, in Tamil Nadu.

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There was the need to have a separate University for Ayush and government has to respond as to when a separate one would be established in Tamil Nadu, the bench said, posting the case for government's reply on April 24.