PGIMER faculty seek resumption of conveyance allowance
The faculty association has written to the hospital administration, expressing their anguish against the “discontinuation of conveyance allowance since December 2018 without any official notification to them”
Failure of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in restarting the allotment of conveyance fee has irked the faculty members of the institute.
The faculty association has written to the hospital administration, expressing their anguish against the “discontinuation of conveyance allowance since December 2018 without any official notification to them.”
The seventh pay commission calls for payment of conveyance allowance to the doctors for visiting hospitals and dispensaries beyond their normal duty hours as well as making domiciliary (private dwelling under authority) visits. It is paid to the employees who travel by their own vehicles. The slab for conveyance allowance starts from ₹1,680 for 201-300 km distance to ₹4,500 for more than 800 km.
In the letter, the faculty association has asked the hospital administration that the conveyance allowance be immediately restored as “is being done for faculty members at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.”
‘ALLOWANCE ALLOWED UNDER 7TH PAY COMMISSION’
President of the faculty association, Dr JS Thakur, reiterated that the seventh pay commission report has made it clear that the conveyance allowance should be paid to doctors. “Arbitrarily discontinuing the allowance is unjustified and rates recommended on the basis of average monthly travel are not practical. Also, maintenance of a log book is not feasible because of the enormous burden of work and multiple visits made by the faculty to facilitate patient care services each day,” he said.
Financial adviser of the faculty association, Kumar Abhay, said they were following orders of the government of India and the hospital administration. “We cannot grant or stop any allowance on our own,” Kumar Abhay said.
‘COMMITTEE FORMED IN MATTER’
Deputy director (administration), Kumar Gaurav Dhawan (IRS), said that during a recent meeting with the faculty association, a committee was formed to look into the issue. “A committee headed by dean academics Dr A Rajwanshi has been constituted to look into the issue. Once the report is submitted, the recommendations will be looked into,” he said.
