About 400 Punjab Rural Veterinary Officers (RVOs), alleging for being “misused” by the Sate Animal Husbandry department, on Wednesday threatened to launch a stir if their demand for a separate directorate under the Rural Development and Panchayats Ministry was not met.
The RVOs work under the Rural Development and Panchayats Ministry, but the Animal Husbandry department keeps getting its works done from them, they alleged on Wednesday during a press conference. “The Animal Husbandry department had systematically misused the officers by engaging them in their projects. But when it comes to financial grants to upgrade around 582 rural civil vet hospitals which are in shambles, the department washes its hands of,” said Rural Veterinary Officers’ Association (RVOA) president Dr Naveep S Khinda.
The RVOs had, therefore, decided to boycott the Animal Husbandry department and would not take part in any of its projects or meetings, he said. Threatening to launch an agitation is their demand was not accepted by the state government, the veterinary doctors said they were planning to meet the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and Panchayats Minister over the issue.
The doctors said that the Animal Husbandry department had been completing its projects with their support and getting huge funds from the state, Central Governments and NABARD for development works, but had never shown the magnanimity to share funds with rural vet hospitals. RVOA general secretary Dr Puneet Malhotra said: “The only solution to all these problems is a separate directorate for RVOs and vet hospital staff under the Rural Development and Panchayats Ministry.” “We are in no mood to give up and we will rest only when our demand of a separate directorate is met by the State Government,” he added.