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After HC rap, Uttarakhand govt increases stipend of medical interns from ₹7k to ₹17k
The decision followed protests by interns and the Uttarakhand HC directing the state government to consider increasing the stipend.
Uttarakhand government on Sunday approved to increase the stipend of interns in medical colleges from monthly ₹7000 to ₹17000, officials said. The approval to the increase in stipend was provided by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Dhami said doctors and paramedic staff have provided valuable services during the epidemic and to lessen its impact on the state.
The decision followed protests by interns and the Uttarakhand high court directing the state government to consider increasing the stipend of the interns.
On July 7, the HC directed state health secretary Amit Negi to consider the possibility of increasing the stipend being paid to the intern doctors. “For, on the one hand, according to Amit Negi, it is difficult to attract the doctors to the state, yet, on the other hand, the stipend being paid to the intern doctors is too low as compared to the other states. Therefore, the state government should consider the possibility of increasing the stipend of intern doctors within the state,” said the HC order.
The issue of increasing the stipend of interns was raised by advocate Abhijay Negi, the counsel of one of the petitioners in the bunch of PILs filed in the HC on the Covid-19 situation in the state.
The July 7 HC order pointed out that “the stipend being paid to the intern doctors is significantly lower than the stipend paid by the other states. “According to him (counsel Abhijay Negi), while the intern doctors in Uttarakhand are being paid a monthly stipend of ₹7,500, the intern doctors in Himachal Pradesh are being paid ₹17,000 and in Chhattisgarh, they are paid ₹17,900/- per month as stipend”.
“Thus, according to the counsel, it is essential that the stipend being paid to the intern doctors should be increased so as to motivate them to become a front-line warrior to tackle Covid-19. This is extremely necessary as the third wave is only four weeks away according to the expert opinion. Thus, the counsel suggests that the state must gear up and strengthen its healthcare system to take on the third wave as it strikes the state, possibly in the second week of August 2021,” the order said.
Last month, interns at Dr Sushila Tiwari Government Hospital in Haldwani, the main referral hospital, held protests, demanding an increase in their stipend. They warned of boycotting their work in the coming days if their stipend was not increased.
Dr Arun Kumar, a junior doctor said, only ₹7500 as a stipend was being given to the junior doctors in the state for the last 12 years, whereas the Central government gives a stipend of ₹23,000 to the junior doctors interning in the hospitals.
