Unpaid for six months, physically disabled doctor writes to Delhi L-G

NEW DELHI:  Unpaid for six months, a frontline healthcare worker in the city associated with the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) has written to Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal over the issue. 

Dr Sumit Anand, posted at the Urban Health Centre, WEA, Karol Bagh, has been working for the past four years has not been paid since June. In his letter, he also claimed that the civic body has been pressurising him to sign faulty salary paybills without increment.

Dr Anand stated that he has not received any increment in salary since the time he joined i.e 4 years. He suffered an accidental surgical injury in 2018 and became a Person with Disability (PwD). According to Dr Anand, a certificate regarding PwD has been issued by Delhi government and later by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment along with (Unique Disability Identity Card).

“It has been almost two years since I have applied for disability rights and privileges as per the guidelines issued by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India, but I am still devoid of it,” Dr Anand, medical officer, wrote in the letter.

Dr Anand also wrote that although the latest guidelines issued by Indian government exempt persons with disabilities from Covid-19 duties, he is working round the week (including holidays and Sundays) and managing Covid-19 Testing Centre despite belonging to the PwD Category.

“Despite several verbal and written requests, the department has not done anything to process my salary since June 2020,” he wrote. He asked the Lieutenant-Governor to intervene in this matter to help him and also to take action against the erring person, he said in the letter.

Ensuring no cases are missed 
In order to effectively curb the spread of coronavirus infection in the country, the Union Health Ministry back in September had in asked all states and Union Territories in the country to mandatorily retest all symptomatic cases found Covid-19 negative in rapid antigen tests (RAT) through RT-PCR so that no positive case is missed