LUCKNOW: With the ongoing controversy over the transfers in various departments, UP CM Yogi Adtiyanath, on Saturday, cancelled the transfers of 48 doctors, all dentists, carried out by the state health department, allegedly against the state's transfer policy.
After taking action on the officials responsible for issuing the erroneous orders in violation of the current transfer police of the state government, the CM, who is seized of the matter and the respective probe reports over erroneous postings, has now cancelled the transfers, it was learnt.
Early in the week, four health department officials were suspended for the alleged violation of rules with regard to the recent transfers in the department.
As per highly-placed sources in the health department, in the transfer list of 313 level 1 medical officers, the names of 48 doctors of level 2, 3 and Ayush were added against the norms of transfer policy. Following the protests by the transferred doctors, a probe was set up under Chief Secretary DS Mishra.
On the basis of the probe report, the transfer order of 48 doctors figuring on the list of 313 level 1 doctors were cancelled. These transfers were done at the level of Medical and Health directorate allegedly against the rules which say that the doctors of level 2 and 3 should be transferred by the state administration only.
In this connection, a departmental inquiry has been ordered against Additional Director (personnel), Dr Anurag Bhargava, who retired recently.
The official sources did not rule out the cancellation of more transfers of doctors done by the health department.
Significantly, since the first week of July, the doctors and other medical staff had been protesting against the transfers done by health department, saying that these were in violation of the state transfer policy.
Even Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, who holds the health portfolio, had sought a reply in this regard from the additional chief secretary, medical health, Amit Mohan Prasad. Besides, an inquiry was also conducted into the transfers by the health directorate.
It had come to light that the ACS had released all the transfer orders without consulting Pathak when he was away in Telangana to take part in the BJP national executive meet.
As a result, Pathak briefed CM Yogi Adityanath in this connection and wrote him a letter also mentioning that the transfers taken place in health department were against the state transfer policy and plagued with a lot of irregularities.
The deputy CM had claimed in his letter to the CM that in the state capital, a number of specialist doctors were transferred without appointing their replacement.
Besides the doctors, UP chapter of Indian Medical Association had lodged objection to the transfers of senior doctors.
However, after the probe report furnished by the committee headed by the Chief Secretary, four officials including Dr Rakesh Kumar Gupta, additional director medical and health services (para-medicals), Dr Ashok Kumar Pandey, additional director, medical and health services (health/administration), Dr Arvind Kumar Verma, joint director (paramedical) and Mohammad Ismail, administrative officer in the health department, were suspended.