A medical officer in Bihar was transferred to another district vide a reshuffle in the Health Department though he had died a month ago, the opposition told the state legislature on Tuesday.
The Nitish Kumar government said it was seized of the matter and has taken remedial steps
The embarrassing anomaly was first flagged outside the assembly premises, before the day”s proceedings commenced, by RJD’s Sheikhpura MLA Vijay Samrat.
Samrat brandished a copy of the notification issued by the Health Department on Monday, wherein one Dr Ram Narayan Ram, a resident of Bhojpur district posted at Rohtas, was shown as having been appointed as the new Civil Surgeon of Sheikhpura.
“The medical officer had died in February after testing positive for COVID-19. Only the Bihar government can say how a dead man has been given a posting,” Samrat told reporters.
Later, during the Zero Hour, fellow RJD MLA Lalit Kumar Yadav also flagged the issue on the floor of the House and demanded an explanation from the government.
Members occupying the treasury benches looked askance as Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha intervened, assuring the opposition legislator that the government would “take serious note” of the matter and do the needful.
In the legislative council, the issue was raised by RJD MLA Subodh Kumar to which health minister Mangal Pandey responded.
“Transfer and posting of senior medical officers is a time-consuming affair. There is often a gap of about a month between a name getting approved for a new posting and issuing of a notification,” Pandey said.
“We came to know about the anomaly immediately and the Section Officer concerned has been served with a show-cause notice while the Additional Chief Medical Officer of Sheikhpura has been asked to take charge,” he added.
