New Delhi: Delhi Lt Governor (L-G) V.K. Saxena on Saturday said he has approved the proposal to extend the services of 962 nursing staff currently working on a contractual basis at hospitals and medical institutions run by the Delhi government.
Saxena agreed with the Department of Health and Family Welfare’s request to extend the services of these contractual nursing employees for another year, from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
Instructions were also given to the Health Department and Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) to notify about the vacant positions for which these contractual employees were hired.
A direction was also issued to conduct tests for regular appointments within a specific timeframe.
The L-G has also told the Health Department to provide an Action Taken Report within three months for a review regarding this matter.
The extension of services for 962 nursing staff follows a similar decision made by the L-G a few days ago when he approved the extension of services for 777 contractual para-medical employees and 476 part-time vocational teachers in the Health and Family Welfare Department and the Education Department, respectively.
While reviewing the file, Saxena noted that extensions for contractual appointments were granted to these employees against regular sanctioned posts from time to time.
Last year, the proposal for the previous one-year extension from July 1 was approved by the L-G with the condition that the Health Department fills these regular positions with permanent employees selected through the proper process.
“However, the Health Department has not fulfilled this condition until now, and the current approval has been given due to the urgent nature of the work performed by these contractual nurses,” the L-G’s office stated.
The office also mentioned that the Delhi High Court had previously directed the Health and Family Welfare Department to establish a one-time regularisation policy for these employees.
“In compliance with the High Court’s directive, a One Time Regularisation policy was formulated on October 11, 2020, allowing contractual employees to apply for open recruitment through DSSSB without any age limit. However, the Department has not yet issued any advertisement for filling these Nursing Posts on a regular basis, and a contempt petition and writ petition are pending before the High Court,” the L-G office said.
Furthermore, the Health Department, which is facing a contempt petition in the Delhi High Court, submitted an affidavit on May 15, 2023, stating that the final requisition for advertising 1,468 posts of Nursing Officers has been accepted by DSSSB.
The recruitment process will be completed within a year, and the advertisement for the same will be issued by DSSSB shortly.
–IANS