Ajay Sharma
Sunderbani, November 10: Lab Technician, appointed under NRHM, at Sub District Hospital (SDH) Sunderbani continues to withdraw salary allegedly without attending the office from last many years.
According to sources, Employee appointed as Lab Technician under NRHM at SDH Sunderbani, mostly remain absent from the duties and invariably attends office once in a month or two, but he enjoys his monthly salary uninterrupted.
“Reports suggest that the Biometric system of the SDH has been compromised, otherwise an employee, who mostly remain absent from duty, withdraws regular salary,” sources said and added that this leads to unwarranted loss to the government exchequer.
Sources maintained that the responsibility of Monitoring the staff lies on the Block Medical Officer (BMO) Sunderbani.
“BMO should be asked who punches the Biometric attendance of the said employee, when he does not attend the office,” said sources, adding that even the staff of the hospital admits that the Lab Technician remains absent most of the time from duties.
Senior officer, wishing anonymity shared that CCTV camera footage of the hospital will be helpful to vindicate the veracity of the allegations about the absence of the Lab Technician.
“It is said that the Lab Technician is well connected and whenever any action is deemed against him, he pressurizes the concerned authorities, especially from the office of superintendent of the hospital,” said senior officer, adding that this employee has been seen once or twice in the hospital, still enjoys full salary.
Meanwhile, some locals have requested the Deputy Commissioner Rajouri to initiate an inquiry into the matter to ascertain how some influential people are exploiting the shortcomings of the system and squeezing public resources while people and medical care suffered.
They said that BMO and other higher officers of the health department should be questioned, how they remained oblivious of the absence of Lab Technician and moreover to the release of his salary in absentia.
“ACB should also intervene and check how salary has been released,” said locals demanded that the Bio-metrics system either does not function or its has been compromised.
BMO suspended in Rajouri
Jammu, Nov 10: A block medical officer was placed under suspension for gross dereliction of duty in Rajouri district on Sunday, an official spokesman said.
Rajouri Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Sharma ordered the suspension of the block medical officer (BMO) following a surprise inspection of the Sub-Division Hospital, Darhal, the spokesman said.
He said the inspection conducted to review the winter preparedness revealed that the entire hospital staff – except for one doctor and a technician – was absent from duty, raising concerns about the provision of healthcare services in the region, especially as winter approaches.
Taking immediate action, the deputy commissioner ordered the suspension of BMO Darhal, attaching him to the office of the chief medical officer (CMO) Rajouri.
Additionally, the chief medical officer of Rajouri has been assigned the additional charge of BMO Darhal until further orders to ensure uninterrupted healthcare services in the area, the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, he said that Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC) Raj Kumar Thapa has been appointed as the inquiry officer to investigate into the instance of gross laxity on the part of the erring officer.
The inquiry officer has been directed to conduct a comprehensive inquiry and submit the report within three days, he added.
He said the deputy commissioner stressed the administration’s commitment to ensuring efficient service delivery, particularly during the critical winter months, and warned that any negligence impacting public welfare will be met with strict consequences.
