Roster system: Ampareen assures justice to every community

Spokesperson of Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government Ampareen Lyngdoh has assured that the government will come up with the best solution to ensure there is no ‘injustice’ done to any community while implementing the roster system in the state.

“We will come out with the best solution and we will ensure that solution is manifested in credible information,” Lyngdoh told reporters today.

“I appeal to the people of Meghalaya and political parties across the board to kindly allow us to collect data, to ensure data collected is credible and to ensure that in applying this roster there shall be no injustice done to any one community. We are Meghalayans and we must understand that the government is for the people of Meghalaya,” she added.

Also referring to the ongoing debates on the issue, the cabinet minister said, “I appeal to political parties to be confident that the government is taking all advisories, suggestions, being debated and we will evaluate those suggestions and we will incorporate and come out with a roster which is going to be acceptable, which is going to be justified and which is going to have credible source of data.”

Stating it is a very difficult situation, she said, “We are trying our best now to ensure that while debating and discussing this matter, we should not be seen as taking anyone’s side, we will try our best to present to the people the best solution.”

On the other hand, Lyngdoh also asserted the need for citizens of the state to ensure that a practice that was propagated since the inception of the state with its positives and negatives should not be discussed beyond logical debate while citing that reservation policy is a very unique application.

According to her, the government is also aware that the roster does in all likelihood create some sort of a sense of insecurity amongst communities that are enjoying this reservation in the state of Meghalaya.

Urging the people of the state not to underestimate the capacity of the government to evaluate what practice will benefit the state in the long run, the spokesperson said, “We have been actively engaging on understanding the roster as it was and how best can we take that forward protecting the interest of all communities who will gradually and definitely be affected by it.”

“I want to give an assurance to the people of the state that the government is engaging actively. We have been advised by various court orders to ensure that we have a systematic application of the reservation policy that will seem like a policy that is sensitive to citizens across the board. We will try our best to understand this system and to ensure that while applying it we should not seem as a government that is unjustly applying a system,” she said while adding “This order of the High Court is going to have positive application in the future. We must as a state adhere to justice for all. We must provide a fair playing ground for all communities and we will try our best to ensure that in its future application we apply the system in the best and most justified manner. We are procuring all datas from all line departments to understand how the roster has been applied in the state thus far and we will adhere to advisories that are going to be productive in the long run for the state and the citizens of Meghalaya.”

On the demand of the Voice of the People Party (VPP) to review the state reservation policy, Lyngdoh said, “Again, I want to reiterate that toying with discussion and debate about the roster on public domain coming out with statements which can seem as bias is the incorrect practice forward.”

“It is not fair to give suggestions that may not be workable or doable. So we will not talk about any one political party but we appeal to all political parties that this is a very sensitive issue, we do not want to see it go out of hand,” she said while requesting all civil societies and NGO members to have faith in the government which will come out with the best solution.

Govt addressing shortage of doctors

Staff Reporter

Shillong, April 2: The state government is taking various measures to address the shortage of doctors in the state even as it will soon review the bond policy.

Minister in charge of Health & Family Welfare Ampareen Lyngdoh told reporters that the last recruitment was initiated through the Recruitment Board which was specifically constituted to quickly address the shortfall of specialist doctors across the state of Meghalaya.

“We are now going to readvertise this matter quickly,” Lyngdoh said.

The minister had recently informed the Assembly that about 397 new medical officers were recruited by the Board out of which 83 are specialist doctors. However, there is still a gap of 150 specialist doctors in the state, which is a cause for concern.

Lyngdoh also informed that the government is also sending doctors for short-term specialization programmes where doctors in CHCs and PHCs are duly equipped to deal with the more complex gynaecology or paediatric or even radiology matters.

According to her, there is a scheme of the government of India and two hospitals in the state – civil hospital, Shillong and Ganesh Das hospital – are now offering these courses to doctors and medical practitioners who have been on the job for many years and who are eligible to go for such kinds of programmes.

“(By) running these programmes, we will be able to quickly address the immediate shortfall of (doctors) in very important departments like gynaecology, paediatric, X-ray, and pathology. That is the mode we are adopting with the hope that at least ensure these specialists quickly get trained for a six-month programme and quickly go back to their places of posting and efficiently discharge their duties in those areas where there is a grave requirement of such specialists,” she added.

Meanwhile, the minister said that the government is yet to review the bond policy when asked on bonded doctors who refused to serve in the state.

“Several of these bonded doctors are now undergoing their PG programmes. Whether or not the government will increase the repayment in view of bonded doctors who do not want to work or serve the state of Meghalaya, we are yet to review that matter because if I am correct the review was done 3-4 years back. I will be looking at this to find out whether or not we still have to increase these bonds. I dont have the exact details of the amount of the increase in the bond but for sure we must ensure that that happens,” she said.

She informed that in the last recruitment, the government did employ most of the bonded doctors who applied for the vacancies of doctors in the state.

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On the other hand, Lyngdoh is of the view that “the doctors are in anyways clearing their NIIT examinations and are anyways proceeding for specialization in various PG hospitals and PG institutes then I think these kinds of situations or these kinds of doctors may be excluded from the purview of this bond.”

“Nevertheless, I am aware that this is an important agenda so that we may address the shortage of specialist, shortage of doctors in our facilities across the state and in the meanwhile the contractual doctors are in anyways been hired in the national health mission (NHM),” she said while adding that this is also helping the government to fill the gaps that are glaring there in the state of Meghalaya.

Further, the minister informed that the state government is now preparing to focus on tertiary treatments.

“We would like now to make sure that at least 10-13 big hospitals in various hospitals get upgraded to the best facilities so that these tertiary care centres will to a large extent address the problem of patients having to travel outside the state to avail higher facilities from hospitals to treat their various ailments. This is something which is going to be done in a big way and we are accessing several funding sources. We would like to see the state of Meghalaya progressing productively in the health sector,” she asserted.