Mumbai: The Maharashtra
Senior Resident Doctors Association (MSRDA) has raised multiple concerns
being faced by senior resident doctors across government medical colleges in the
state, including the implementation of revised Dearness Allowance and the timely payment of stipends. In a formal submission to the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), the association highlighted ongoing problems impacting the workforce.Also Read:Mumbai: 24 year old MDS student allegedly commits suicide over humiliation, mental harassment, man booked for abetmentAmong the issues raised in its submissions were delays in stipend payments, failure to implement the revised Dearness
Allowance, lack of a standardised leave policy, and recurring technical
glitches in biometric attendance systems. The representation was addressed to
the Commissioner of DMER, Government of Maharashtra, urging attention to these
pressing matters.
Despite a government
resolution revising DA from 466% to 474% under the 5th Pay Commission, many
institutions continue to pay stipends without incorporating the revised DA
component, resulting in financial discrepancies. MSRDA has demanded timely
stipend payment, uniform implementation of the revised stipend across all
colleges, and immediate clearance of pending arrears. Following this revision,
the approved stipend for Senior Resident Doctors has been revised to
approximately Rs 99,000 per month. However, several Government Medical Colleges
across the state continue to disburse lower stipend amounts without
incorporating the revised DA component. “This inconsistency is unfair and
unacceptable,” the association added.
The association demanded disbursement
of stipend every month for all Senior Resident Doctors across Maharashtra, uniform
implementation of the revised stipend, including DA across all Government
Medical Colleges and immediate payment of arrears for the past 12 months in
colleges where the DA component has not been included.
The association has also
highlighted the lack of a defined leave policy for Senior Resident Doctors and
has requested implementation of a minimum provision of 12 Casual Leaves and 20
Special Leaves annually, in line with welfare principles and NMC guidelines. At
present, there are no clear guidelines regarding Casual Leave or Special Leave,
resulting in arbitrary decisions by individual institutions and departments. “If
a humane leave structure is not implemented, we will be constrained to approach
the National Human Rights Commission of India to safeguard the fundamental
rights and well-being of resident doctors,” MSRDA stated.Also Read:WB Junior Doctors protest new senior resident posting rulesAdditionally, MSRDA has
raised serious concerns about technical failures in biometric attendance
systems, where doctors are being penalized despite genuine attendance and
departmental certification by Heads of Departments. Despite multiple genuine
attempts to mark attendance, the system frequently fails to register entries
due to technical glitches, server issues, or Aadhaar linkage failures. Instead
of addressing these systemic flaws, the current approach unfairly penalizes
doctors who are already performing their duties diligently.
MSRDA has urged DMER to issue
clear statewide directives to resolve these issues urgently, emphasizing that senior resident doctors form the backbone of tertiary healthcare services in
Maharashtra and deserve fair working conditions and administrative support.