Hitting out at Capt Amarinder Singh’s government for stopping the Non-Practice Allowance (NPA) provided to the doctors in government hospitals and dispensaries in Punjab and allowing them to do private practice, the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Punjab unit on Friday termed it as a lopsided decision.
At the same time, AAP cautioned that the government’s decision would hit the public health services in the State, besides giving more teeth to the health mafia active in Punjab.
It has been learnt that the State Government is planning to abolish the NPA and to allow the doctors for private practice.
“The government is trying to save public money at the cost of people’s interests…Allowing doctors to do private practice in the name of saving just Rs 153 crore is a lopsided decision all set to hit health services in the state. The worst affected would be the poor people,” said AAP leaders including the party's state core committee chairman and MLA Principal Budh Ram, Deputy Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha Sarabjit Kaur Manuke, party spokesperson and MLA Rupinder Kaur Ruby and NRI wing president Jai Kishan Singh Rori, in a joint statement.
Principal Budh Ram and Manuke reiterated that during its tenure from 2002-07, the Capt Amarinder government had come out with the proposal, but had to roll back on the decision amid vehement protests poured in from the public. Even the doctors had opposed the Captain Government's move to stop NPA and allowing private practice, they pointed.
Rori and Ruby said that the Government was trying to fill the government coffers by stopping NPA payable to doctors in government hospitals and dispensaries, suggesting that it should do it by taming the liquor mafia, health and education mafia, sand mafia, transport mafia usurping major chunk of the state exchequer.
“The Captain Government is not bothered about the issues and concerns of the people…Mafia is gaining ground under the protective patronage of the Capt Amarinder Government, like his predecessor,” they added.