SHIMLA — The impasse between the Himachal Pradesh Government and the state's medical fraternity has ended amicably. Following a high-level breakthrough, the State Association of Medical and Dental College Teachers (SAMDCOT) announced on Sunday that it is deferring its proposed three-day pen-down strike for two weeks.
The breakthrough came late Friday evening during a crucial meeting at the State Secretariat, where a SAMDCOT delegation led by President Dr. Balveer S. Verma held intensive discussions with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in the presence of the Health Secretary.
Major Concessions & Government Assurances
Prompted by the Chief Minister's personal intervention, the state administration agreed to address several core grievances raised by the medical faculty:
Revocation of Controversial Transfers: The government acted swiftly to issue formal orders on Saturday canceling transfer directives for all Associate Professors and Professors who had not yet been relieved or approached the courts.
Transparent Faculty Rotation Policy: A structured, transparent rotation policy spanning a 2-month cycle will be implemented inline with sanctioned institutional requirements.
Uniformity in Service Conditions: The administration agreed to standardise administrative rules across government medical institutions, including IGMC Shimla and AIIMS Chamiana.
This covers a uniform 'no-vacation' policy for designated Assistant Professors, assured Non-Practising Allowance (NPA) for all regular Assistant Professors, and refined Senior Resident (SR) guidelines to bridge staffing gaps.
Review of PG Bond Policy: The state has agreed to re-examine the Post-Graduation (PG) bond policy to better incentivize and prioritize medical professionals passing out from local colleges.
Structural Concerns Underlined
While welcoming the government's positive steps, SAMDCOT emphasized that two major structural and institutional challenges require urgent policy harmonization:
Unified Administration for IGMC and AIIMS Chamiana: Highlighting that AIIMS Chamiana was fundamentally built and funded as a superspecialty block of IGMC Shimla rather than an independent entity, the association stressed that creating parallel administrative structures or dual posts of 'Principals' creates operational bottlenecks.
To preserve institutional legacy and comply with National Medical Commission (NMC) frameworks where postgraduate DM/MCh seats are tied to IGMC, a single unified administrative architecture is vital.
Adherence to NMC Norms: SAMDCOT cautioned against localized administrative arguments viewing medical education outside central purview.
Reaffirming that higher medical education standards fall under Union List Entry 66 of the Constitution, the association underlined that strict compliance with NMC guidelines is non-negotiable to safeguard the recognition status of MBBS, MD/MS, and superspecialty seats in Himachal Pradesh.
Strike Postponed, Review in Two Weeks
With the immediate grievances addressed and formal cancellation notifications issued, SAMDCOT has decided to hold off its aggressive phase of protests—including the pen-down strike initially scheduled from November 2 to November 4—for a period of two weeks.
The association stated that this window will allow the state government sufficient time to translate all agreed-upon points into official notifications, after which a progress review will be conducted.
