Assam CM Tarun Gogoi Assam CM Tarun Gogoi

The Assam government has initiated legal action to recover Rs 20 lakh each from as many as 244 doctors who had obtained their post-graduate medical degree in 2014 for violating a commitment for serving at least 10 years under the state government, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said in Guwahati on Thursday.

The chief minister also directed the state health and family welfare department to immediately initiate strict legal action against those PG doctors who have violated the terms and conditions of the agreement they had signed at the time of their admission.

Such cases of violation would also be taken up with the Medical Council of India, an official press release quoting the chief minister said.

Gogoi, who took the matter seriously, said these 244 post-graduate doctors had, prior to admission in the state’s medical colleges, committed to serve the state government for 10 years, for default of which they had also agreed to repay Rs 20 lakh each as compensation.

According to the Assam Medical Colleges (Regulations of Admission into PG Course) Rules 2006, a doctor on completion of his/her PG course has to serve under the state government for at least 10 years.

In case of any breach of terms and conditions, defaulting doctors are liable to pay Rs 20 lakh as compensation to the state government on account of expenses borne by it for doctors pursuing the post-graduate course.

“Since the general public visiting government health institutions have been deprived of the services of PG doctors in spite of huge amount of public money invested on them by the state government, the public money would not be allowed to go waste,” chief minister Gogoi said.

“In case of failure to pay the compensation, the government of Assam can file money suit and take any other legal action against the defaulting doctors,” the press release said.

Gogoi on Thursday also directed officials to take steps to prevent such wilful neglect of responsibilities by some doctors and said henceforth all candidates seeking admission to PG courses in medical colleges of the state would have to furnish bank guarantee of sufficient amount so as to safeguard the interest of the people seeking medical care.

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