An order to this effect was issued by joint director (administration), Health Department, Dr BL Saini on December 9 which sparked controversy. Among Muslim employees, the order has created a state of confusion as such counting by health department has never happened in the state before.
Alpsankhyak Adhikari Karmchari Mahasangh president Haroon Khan said that that apart from government counting Muslims in government jobs, it should provide jobs to minorities citing decline in percentage of minorities holding government jobs.
It was written to all chief medical health officers of the state asking them to count Muslim employees working in sub Health Centres, primary health centres and community health centres on different posts — radiographers, lab technicians, dental technicians, nursing staff and other non-gazetted staff. It does not include doctors.
The order has already been issued to all CMHOs and they have now started collecting the data as directed by the health department. Bharatpur’s CMHO Gopal Ram said, “I have directed my deputy to compile the list and send it to the health department by December 15.”
Following a controversy, the state health department has clarified that it issued the order in compliance with Union health ministry’s directions to seek such figures for implementation of recommendations made by the Sachhar committee.
“I do not know why questions are being raised on order of counting Muslims. I have issued orders of counting Muslims in compliance with the orders which we have received from ministry of health and family welfare,” Dr Saini said.
He said that the ministry of health and family welfare had sought data on Muslim personals posted in health centres (sub-centres, primary health centres and community health centres). The letter was issued by Ziley Singh Vical, who is deputy secretary to the government of India.
The Ministry of health in its letter to health secretary Veenu Gupta mentioned that there were letters issued earlier for sending data of Muslim employees regarding implementation of recommendation of Sachar Committee for the welfare of minority community. But, the health department failed to send the data. Since, January 2016, the ministry of health and family welfare had written at least five times demanding data of Muslims working in health department.
Sachar Committee was commissioned by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005, which prepared a report and made recommendations for empowering Muslim community.
Recently, a similar order by the state government to identify the ‘jati’ (caste) of doctors in four districts went awfully wrong, forcing the government to term it as ‘a clerical mistake’. The health department, in a notification dated June 20, 2017, demanded details of castes of officials in charge of health centres in four districts – Barmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Nagaur.
Source : timesofindia
