State govt stays order allowing homeopaths to practice modern medicine

So far, the MMC has registered only one homeopath, on August 4, after the state government allowed homeopaths with a Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) to register with the council and prescribe allopathic medicines

Mumbai: The Mahayuti government has directed the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) to halt the registration of homeopaths allowed to practice modern medicine and prescribe allopathic medicines till the Bombay High Court or the government arrives at a final decision on the matter.

The IMA and the MARD are opposed to the move and both had staged protests and strikes opposing the state government’s decision (HT Photo)

The order issued on Tuesday morning and signed by a section officer in the department of medical education and drugs said that issuing further registration certificates would be inappropriate till the crisis engendered by allopathic doctors’ opposition to the move subsides or the court decides on the matter.

So far, the MMC has registered only one homeopath, on August 4, after the state government allowed homeopaths with a Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) to register with the council and prescribe allopathic medicines.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) – two of the largest forums comprising allopathic doctors in Maharashtra – are opposed to the move and both had staged protests and strikes opposing the state government’s decision.

The high court is scheduled to hear the matter, which was filed in 2014, on August 21-23.

‘Rollback promised’

After the department of medical education and drugs issued the order barring registration of homeopaths with a CCMP around 11am on Tuesday, homeopaths from across the city mobilised in Azad Maidan for a protest. A delegation of the Integrated Doctors Association (IDA), comprising doctors from non-allopathic streams, also met the minister for medical education, Hasan Mushrif, seeking his intervention.

“The minister assured us that he will revoke the order tomorrow. He said he was unaware of the order and wondered how a junior official from his own ministry had issued it without his approval,” IDA secretary Dr Sayyed Abrar told HT.

The IDA would continue with the protest in Azad Maidan on Wednesday, till the order is revoked, Dr Abrar said.

Meanwhile, on August 14, the state government cleared the way for the new 18-member MMC team to take charge of the council’s affairs. The team, which includes nine elected members, five members nominated by the state government and four ex-officio members, will soon take over the functioning of the MMC, said an IMA member elected to the MMC panel.

“The MMC was being run by an administrator for the past 2.5 years. We thank the state government and the medical education minister for constituting the MMC afresh. The first meeting will be convened by the appropriate authority soon and charge will be handed over,” the MMC member said.