SRINAGAR: The Union Government has clarified that there is no central policy for the regularisation, pay parity or absorption of National Health Mission (NHM) employees in Jammu and Kashmir, stating that such matters fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of the respective State and Union Territory governments.
Responding to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha by Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo, the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav, said that public health and hospitals are state subjects, and the primary responsibility for managing human resources for health lies with the State/UT administrations.
The query had raised concerns over NHM employees in Jammu and Kashmir working for over 18 years without regularisation, job security or equal wages, and sought details on any proposed roadmap for their absorption into regular posts.
In his reply, the Minister stated that while the Government of India provides technical and financial support under the National Health Mission, decisions related to regularisation, pay parity and service conditions of NHM staff are taken by the respective State or Union Territory governments.
He added that funding under NHM is based on proposals submitted by States and UTs through their Programme Implementation Plans, which are approved by the National Programme Coordination Committee.
The Centre further noted that States and UTs are responsible for ensuring adequate availability of healthcare personnel by creating regular posts for doctors, specialists and support staff in line with Indian Public Health Standards. NHM, it said, is designed to supplement existing human resources by filling gaps in primary and secondary healthcare facilities, particularly at the district level and below.
The response effectively rules out any immediate central intervention in addressing long-standing demands of NHM employees in Jammu and Kashmir regarding regularisation and pay parity, leaving the matter to be resolved by the Union Territory administration.
