Doctored Postings?: Health Deptt transfers stir row over seniority breach
Srinagar, Jul 19: The recent transfers and postings in the J&K Health and Medical Education Department have come under the scanner for alleged violations of seniority rules.
Doctors and experts contend that the reshuffle “reeks of nepotism” and has the potential to not only create anarchy but also seriously hamper healthcare delivery across hospitals here.
Minister for Health and Medical Education, Sakina Itoo, said the matter would be examined if there was any merit to the allegations.
The list under scrutiny – 429-JK (HME) of 2025, dated June 28, 2025, has created ripples among the doctors working in the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir (DHSK).
The list, which is available on the web, has transferred and posted 33 doctors of the DHSK to various positions and posts.
However, from the list, it appears that no rule of seniority has been employed in conferring the coveted positions of administrators in various hospitals and healthcare delivery institutions.
The DHSK maintains a public seniority list, which is upgraded and updated regularly.
The seniority list has been used as the main document for promotions to administrative posts.
However, the list has a different story to tell: a medical officer has been elevated to the position of In-charge Deputy Director Health Services, Kashmir, while another medical officer has been appointed as Deputy Medical Superintendent of the Super Speciality Hospital in Srinagar.
Additionally, a third medical officer has been named Deputy MS of the Children’s Hospital, and yet another has been deputed to the Jammu and Kashmir Medical Supplies Corporation Limited (JKMSCL).
Many allege that the postings to BMOs, CMOs, MS, and Deputy MS positions have violated the rules.
The order is also a contradiction of a recent government order that relieved medical officers from DHSK from their deputations in GMC Associated Hospitals, the move aimed at “bolstering peripheral healthcare”.
Many people who spoke to Greater Kashmir questioned the seriousness of the government in addressing critical gaps in rural and underserved areas.
The appointments have also sparked debate about the qualifications, experience, and suitability of junior doctors for administrative roles.
The doctors who feature higher in the merit list than those who have been conferred posts have alleged that those who have been appointed in the DHSK between 2002 and 2005 have been overlooked, while the 2012 batch onwards have been favoured.
One of the senior doctors said that the government must either announce that it would not follow seniority protocols in appointments and would go by its “whims and fancies” or embark on a course correction.
He said that the list was set to breed anarchy as seniors would have to work under doctors who are way junior and inexperienced.
“In addition, why will the government hand over key posts to doctors who have much less experience,” he said, alleging that it was clear that there was “nepotism” in the system, or "some other serious anomaly.”
Minister for Health and Medical Education, Sakina Itoo told Greater Kashmir that she had already been contacted by some doctors about it.
“I have directed them to submit a representation. We will examine it. If there is some injustice, we will rectify it,” she said.
Secretary Health and Medical Education, Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, who has issued the order, did not respond to queries regarding the alleged violations.
The issue is being discussed over social media platforms with netizens demanding answers from the authorities.
