Shimla: In a landmark decision, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has ruled that doctors serving in rural areas will be awarded five additional marks when applying for postgraduate (PG) courses.
Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, presiding over the case, emphasised that the government must adopt a single, uniform policy for awarding these marks to rural-serving doctors and cannot maintain multiple, conflicting rules.
Following the directive, the state government has announced that all doctors in rural postings would now benefit under the incentive provisions laid out in its 2023 policy, effectively streamlining the criteria.
The decision, which aligns with the National Medical Council’s (NMC) 2018 guidelines, aims to encourage doctors to serve in remote and underserved areas by offering four extra marks for rural postings.
This ruling marks a significant shift from the earlier fragmented policies.
Policy introduced in 2017, tweaked in 2023
Himachal Pradesh’s rural service policy for doctors has undergone several changes over the years. In 2017, the state government introduced mandatory rural postings for doctors and in 2018, the NMC added the “rural” category, establishing incentive marks for such service.
However, the implementation has been contentious. Under the 2019 policy, doctors who served in tribal areas received 8 marks, those in hard-to-access areas 10 marks and rural area doctors 4 marks.
In 2023, a new policy redefined these incentives, yet created two categories: doctors appointed before 2019, who would not be eligible for incentive marks under the latest rules, and those appointed after 2019, who would fall under the 2023 provisions.
This discrepancy was challenged by Dr Paras, who argued in court that the rules unjustly discriminated against doctors based on their appointment dates.
High Court decision and implications
Justice Goel’s judgment nullifies the earlier rule disparity, mandating that all doctors serving in rural areas, irrespective of appointment date, will be eligible for incentive marks under the 2023 policy.
The decision is expected to motivate more doctors to accept rural postings, addressing critical healthcare shortages in Himachal Pradesh’s remote regions.
To receive these incentives, doctors will need to submit verified incentive certificates when applying for PG courses.
