Posting of one officer in two medical institutions decried by medicos in J & K

Srinagar: Medicos have expressed their concern over a recent appointment of Additional Director SKIMS Soura and GMC Srinagar Administrator to a single officer.

In a recent transfer and posting order issued by the Principal Secretary to the Government Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, the Government on February 24 appointed Gulzar Ahmed Dar, Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC) Srinagar as Additional Director SKIMS Soura and Administrator GMC Srinagar's Associated Hospitals.

Additionally to his duties, the officer has been entrusted with the responsibility of managing the two largest medical institutions of Kashmir.

In response, the medicos and other staff members of the two institutes have spoken out against the assignment of an Administrator and an Additional Director on a "part-time basis." This new additional charge made the medicos raise questions over the appointment of the charge of 2 important positions to a single officer.

Medical staff and medicos at the GMC in Srinagar have voiced concern over the delayed process caused by the officer who had been charged with the additional responsibility of not ensuring adequate time for the medical college.

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"They had been demanding a full-time administrator for the medical college so that the duties and responsibilities that had been assigned to the freshly empowered post were discharged properly," said a senior faculty member of GMC Srinagar

A GMC hospital administrator told "The transfer and posting order is like from the frying pan into the fire. How is it going to help the medical institutes now that the new officer holds three charges."

Some faculty members in SKIMS Soura also believed that the arrangement of "additional charge" was ruining the institute, and demanded that the Additional Director be a full-time officer.

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Additional Chief Secretary to J&K Government, Health and Medical Education, Vivek Bhardwaj told Greater Kashmir that "his department had already placed a request for an officer to hold the charge of the GMC Administrator. We are hopeful of getting the request addressed soon."

On February 9, the government had issued an order assigning major responsibilities at medical colleges to the Administrators, the Personnel Officer, and the Administrative Officer.

The responsibilities of the administrators include

• Supervision of non-gazetted employees of the medical colleges
• APRs, inquiries, and personal matters of all employees
• Reference of vacancies; budget and planning
• All matters of estates of the medical colleges including hostels of the medical colleges
• Monitoring of funds allocated under National Health Mission
• Hospital Development Fund
• Draft formulation of recruitment rules
• Security and other issues.

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