Dairy News

Rural Veterinary Officers on warpath against Punjab govt

Wednesday, 21/08/2013

http://www.punjabnewsline.com/punjab/rural-veterinary-officers-on-warpath-against-punjab-govt/85238

CHANDIGARH: Punjab government may need to ready itself to grapple with a major agitation with as many as 400 Rural Veterinary Officers (RVOs) working in the state’s 582 Civil Veterinary Hospitals in rural areas gearing up to take on not just the state animal husbandry department, but even the chief minister Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD-BJP alliance government for what they call regular, consistent and unlawful interference in their affairs by the animal husbandry establishment.

Airing these sentiments on Wednesday, office bearers of the Rural Veterinary Officers’ Association (RVOA), Punjab at a media interaction at Chandigarh Press Club said that their ministry is separate but the animal husbandry department keeps getting work done from them for their projects. Despite completing the projects, the department does not share even a single penny for upgrading of rural veterinary hospitals that are lying in a shambles.

According to Dr Navdeep Singh Khinda, president RVOA, “The animal husbandry department has systematically misused us by engaging us in their projects and then washing hands off when it comes to financial grants to rural civil vet hospitals, saying that our department is different. They say that we should take funds and other equipment from Zila Parishads.”

The result of this is that civil veterinary hospitals in rural Punjab lack basic infrastructure, furniture, supplies of essential medicines. The rural vets have, therefore, decided to boycott the animal husbandry department and will now not be part of any of its projects or meetings.

The RVOs will also not give any report or receipt fees to animal husbandry department. All RVOs and officials working under the rural development and panchayats establishment and the associated Zila Parishads will report directly to their department.

The doctors said that animal husbandry department has been completing its projects with our support and getting huge cash inflows from state, Central government and NABARD for development works but has never shown the magnanimity to share funds with rural vet hospitals to improve these hospitals.

There is another issue related to RVOs which has exacerbated the problem. While the RVOs have been recruited under the Punjab Rural Veterinary Panchayati Raj Act (Group A) Service Rules, no appointment has been done at either the district or state level. Consequently, the RVOs demands and needs are not reaching authorities at the state level. Adding to this, due to these circumstances the promotions channel of RVOs is totally blocked.

Dr Puneet Malhotra, General Secretary, RVOA, “The only solution to all these problems is a separate directorate for RVOs’ and vet hospital staff under the rural development and Panchayati Raj ministry. We are in no mood to give up and we will rest only when our very genuine demand of a separate directorate is met by the state government.”

The office bearers said that they now plan to meet chief minister Badal, deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and the concerned minister Surjit Singh Rakhra with their demands.

The veterinary doctors threatened that if their reasonable and logical demand is not acceded to by the Punjab government they will have to take the agitation route.