Chhattisgarh CM Baghel announces hike in stipend for junior doctors

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday said his government has decided to hike the stipend of junior doctors in the state.

As per the decision, MBBS students will get Rs 15,900 per month in place of Rs 12,600, while first-year postgraduate (PG) students will get Rs 67,500 per month, up from the current Rs 53,550.

Similarly, the stipend of second-year PG students will be hiked to Rs 71,450 per month from Rs 56,700 and third-year PG students will get Rs 74,600 per month in place of Rs 59,220, officials said.

"It is satisfying to share that we have decided to increase the stipend for junior doctors," Baghel tweeted.

The stipend hike was a long pending demand of junior doctors who had staged strikes in support of it several times during the last three years.

"The stipend was not hiked for the last five years and the Junior Doctors' Association (JUDA) had been demanding a hike since the last three years. The hike move is welcome but the state government should have also considered salary hike of those under rural service bond after completing post graduation," former president of JUDA Dr Prem Chaudhary told PTI.

Under Chhattisgarh's mandatory rural service bond policy, students after completing undergraduate medical courses have to work at public health facilities for two years and again two years after the post-graduation.

The penalty for refusal is Rs 25 lakh for undergraduates and Rs 50 lakh for PGs, Chaudhary said.

"JUDA had earlier demanded reduction in bond period to one year each after UG and PG but this was declined. The post PG bond doctors are being paid Rs 55,000 per month which is much less than their juniors (third year PG students) who will now get stipend of Rs 74,600 per month after the hike," he pointed out.

This discrepancy should have been addressed by the government, said Chaudhary who cleared his PG exam in the previous academic session from Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru Memorial Medical College Raipur.