Row Over Govt Move to Extend DME Service

With the Director of Medical Education's tenure to end this month, the government's move to give extension for another two more years has led to wide criticism, with many see it as a prelude to the government's attempt to increase the retirement age of teachers in the Medical Education Service.

It is also alleged that the government that shows much enthusiasm in giving extension to the existing higher officials, it has not shown interest in making any new recruitment. Already a list of doctors, of which 900 have specialty qualification, is pending and is alleged that the PSC was ready to fill the posts within two weeks if the Directorate of Medical Education had notified the posts.

Pressure is alleged be mounting on the government as well as the health department for extending the period of the DME. However, sources said that if the extension was given, it would only create an unnecessary precedence. The move is also seen as a prelude to the government's intention to increase the retirement age in the Medical Education Service to 62.

Meanwhile Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA), which has always stood against increasing the pension age, said that they vehemently opposed any such move. ''The Association opposes the retirement age or extension of service of any individual or in general,'' KGMCTA general secretary Dr C P Vijayan said. Moreover, he also pointed out that the seven long years of the present DME was not fruitful.

However, officials in the health department said that there was no such pressure for extending the DME's tenure. They said that the DME can continue till the end of the academic year. But it is said that there was no superannuation as the post was only an administrative one and not academic. 

Source< The New Indian Express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/381029/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/24-11-2014#page/4/1

 

Kerala's moves for a Public Health Agency criticised

The government's move to establish a Public Health Protection Agency has evoked criticism from the medical Fraternity, which maintains that it will not be a substitute to Public Health Cadre and Public Health Department envisaged in the National Health Policy, which has been adopted by several states.

With the emerging/reemerging of many diseases and health indices pointing out that Kerala has not made any advancements for the last ten years, many of the doctors and health experts were for creating a separate Public health cadre and public health department. The government has mooted the Agency to guide the Health Department for improving and protecting public health, mainly focusing on prevention. But experts point out it will be a futile exercise and will not have any major impact.

While mooting the Agency, the government had pointed out that Public Health did not pertain to health department alone but involved the active involvement of other departments like water resources, social welfare, education and LSGD. As such a separate Agency will help in coordinating the works related to public health. Though the experts agree that coordination of departments was needed, they said that an Agency or any coordination unit/agency will not be a substitute to Public Health Department and Public Health Cadre. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa and Gujarat have already established public Health Departments.

Agreeing that inter departmental coordination is needed for improvement of public health, Indian Medical Association, Kerala, president Sreejith N Kumar said ''Coordination can be called by any name like Public Health Protection Agency or some other name. But an exclusive department for public health is inevitable in the raising threat of emerging/reemerging of many diseases.''

Source: The New Indian Express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/376154/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/17-11-2014#page/6/1

Govt says redeployment of MC Doctors based on DME report

Even as the Medical College teachers threaten to launch an agitation against redeploying doctors at the Medical Colleges to run the newly set up Medical colleges at Manjeri and Idukki, the government has stated that the decision to redeploy them was taken based on a report of the Director of Medical Education (DME).

The government has made it clear that the DME, who was asked for a report on the staff pattern, had given a report that there were more teachers as per the norms of the Medical Council of India in the existing medical colleges. ''When the file for creating posts at the new medical colleges was sent to the Finance Department, it had asked for a report of the staff pattern in the Medical Colleges. The DME was entrusted with the task and the director had reported that there were more teachers in the Medical Colleges as per the MCI Norms,'' Health Minister V S Sivakumar said.

On the notice served by the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA) that they would go for a strike if Government issues an order with respect to redeployment, he said that the government has nothing to do in this. ''It is their head who said in the report that the medical colleges had more teachers than the prescribed MCI norms and the doctors can be redeployed. It was only after this report that the government had moved ahead in the issue,'' he said.

Source: The new Indian express 

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/376154/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/17-11-2014#page/3/1

Tvm Residents call for protecting Orange lake

The new Central University campus to be set up at Kudappanakunnu has been well received by the residents, who have been agitating against rampant encroachment and destruction of the region, but stressed for an environment – friendly campus and protection of the nature, especially the Orange poika.

The district collector was directed on Wednesday to identify 5 acres of land in Kudappanakunnu for setting up the campus. For the last many months, the people of Kudappanakunnu have been agitating against the encroachment and the move to dump waste near the Orange poika, a landlocked natural water body in the hill, which is almost on the verge of extinction. The pond is a source of water to the many streams, ponds and wells in the surrounding areas.

Welcoming the decision, Sivan Kutty, a resident of Kudapanakunnu who is part of the agitation, said ''We welcome the campus here. But at the same time, the environment should be protected and the constructions should be eco-friendly.''

Stressing that they will not allow any more encroachment and destruction of the pond, he said that the agitation will be intensified if the government goes ahead with any programme that causes imbalance to the environment.

K Muraleedharan, who is the local MLA, also noted that the environment will be protected while setting up the Central University campus.

Source: http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/369887/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/07-11-2014#page/17/1

Kerala Govt for massive drive against excess land

With the charitable institutions, trusts, religious and caste based institutions and commercial establishments reportedly having excess land to the tune of about 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh acres of land across the state, the government is for launching a massive drive for identifying the excess land in their possession and to retrieve them.

In the case of land given to the Public Sector Units, the government has given directions to take steps to retrieve the land that has not be utilised by the concerned PSUs. It is learned that a meeting, which was chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy last week, had directed the State Land Board to list out the lands that are in excess with the various charitable institutions, trusts, religious and caste based institutions and commercial establishments. The land Board was also asked to initiate ceiling cases against those who have violated the rules and to take steps to take back the land that is in excess.

Highly placed sources said that christian missionaries topped the list of excess land, which is estimated to come around 75,000 acres to 1 lakh acres. The Hindu organisations are said to have about 50,000 to 75,000 acres and the Muslim organisations to be having about 40,000 acres to 50,000 acres of excess land. They also said that the caste based organisations also have violated the rules and have excess land to the tune of about 75,000 acres. Apart from this, charitable institutions and trusts have also lands beyond their permissible possession, which is said to come to about 30,000 acres. However, it has to be noted that the government does not have a proper proper data regarding the land in possession with these organisations, institutions and trusts.

As per the KLR Act, exemption should be availed for the land that is in excess, which is being used for any public purpose. But the officials said that most of the charitable institutions, religious/caste based institutions and others have not yet availed such exemption and they continued to buy lands in different parts of the state.

As a first step, the officials are learned to have been asked to collect details of excess lands in the possession of charitable institutions, trusts, religious and caste based institutions and commercial establishments.

source: The New Indian Express

http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/369887/The-New-Indian-Express-Thiruvananthapuram/07-11-2014#page/4/1