PIL In Rajasthan High Court Seeks Incentives, Compassionate Appointment, Etc. To Doctors, Nurses Working As COVID-19 Workforce

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) Petition has been moved before the Rajasthan High Court seeking incentives over and above the regular salary to the doctors and nurses working as covid workforce or as frontline workers in private as well as government hospitals. The plea has been moved by Party in person, Advocate Sahil Jain stating that the petitioner seeks to ensure that doctors/nurses are provided with proper care financially and mentally by providing them incentives to boost their morale in the wake of the ongoing corona crisis in the State of Rajasthan and to also provide compassionate appointment schemes both in private as well as government hospitals. Averments in the plea Importantly, the plea states, "Amid the shortage of the medical infrastructure in the state of Rajasthan makes it even more important to dedicate a special scheme to provide incentives and compassionate appointment for the doctors and nurses who are working in the covid care centers and hospitals in order to fight the covid pandemic and provide them health as well as job security" Further, the plea avers that the government needs to quantify the efforts made by doctors and nurses who are working tirelessly in spite of the threat of getting infected by also providing them monetary benefits. "That there has been a very low set of income paid to the warriors who are fighting this lethal biological war which is henceforth directly demeaning the doctors and nurses who are fighting against such biological weapon by not getting the appropriate compensation/incentives for their dedicated work which might also take their life away and remaining underpaid," adds the plea. The plea argues that the government should make sure that the doctors and nurses especially those who are the sole breadwinners for their family are given the benefit under a compassionate appointment scheme. Also, it has been argued that the government needs to take proactive measures to ensure that the doctors and nurses, who are working in full flow to decrease the impact of the lethal virus and without having proper health and job security, might not lose the morale to save the already infected. Further, stressing that there is a lack of regulation and implementation of Insurance Scheme provided under Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Package, the plea states "Nearly 800 doctors and nurses have already succumbed to the said lethal virus however till now no benefits have been provided to the kin of those doctors and nurses who have already died. Those families still await the insurance amount claimed by them in accordance with the said scheme Rs. 50 Lakhs will be awarded as an insurance for the family of those doctors who have succumbed to coronavirus, yet no positive results have been seen coming out of the said scheme." Prayers in the plea Direct the respondents to provide appropriate incentives over and above the regular salary to the doctors and nurses working in a covid workforce or frontline workers in private as well as government hospitals on monthly basis.Direct the respondent to issue an order/notification for providing a compassionate appointment scheme for the doctors/nurses who die whilst working as a covid workforce group in both private as well as government hospitals. Direct the respondents to ensure the regulation and strict implementation of Insurance Scheme under Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Package. In related news, last year the Madras HC had remarked, "This Court places its appreciation and applauds to the services rendered by the Doctors, Health Workers and Police Officers during the pandemic time."The Bench of Justice N. Kirubakaran Justice B. Pugalendhi was hearing a petition filed praying for a direction for State Of Tamilnadu, and Director Of Medical Education to prohibit the President, Tamil Nadu Government Doctors and the Secretary, Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association and its members from going on or organizing or participating in any kind of strike, in all the Government Hospitals in the state of Tamil Nadu.

PIL In Rajasthan High Court Seeks Incentives, Compassionate Appointment, Etc. To Doctors, Nurses Working As COVID-19 Workforce

Sparsh Upadhyay

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