MOHALI: The Veterinary doctors of the Animal Husbandry Department are geared up to hold a State-level protest march, to lay bare the hollow rhetoric of the AAP government, at Tarn Taran on Nov 2.
The state executive of Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Vets for pay parity met here under leadership of convenor Dr Gurcharan Singh to chalk out nitty and gritty of protest march.
Dr Gurcharan stated that veterinary doctors across Punjab have been struggling for the last four and a half years for the restoration of pay parity with medical doctors and the reinstatement of the 4-9-14 Dynamic Assured Career Progression (DACP) scheme. The pay parity, which had been maintained between veterinary and medical doctors for 42 years, was erroneously disturbed by the previous government in January 2021. The government reduced the initial pay scale of veterinary doctors from Rs 56, 100/- to Rs 47, 600/- , in the process breaking the pay parity with medical doctors. The veterinary doctors of Punjab are now on the path of agitation to get this scale restored to 56, 100.
The Co-conveners of the JAC, Dr. Puneet Malhotra and Dr. Abdul Majid, said that earlier, the JAC had held meetings with the senior officials of the Animal Husbandry Department and the Animal Husbandry Minister, Gurmeet Singh Khuddian. Several meetings were also held with the Sub-Committee headed by Finance Minister However, despite all this, the veterinary doctors have only received false promises and temporary assurances.
The Coordinator of the JAC, Dr. Tejinder Singh, said that state governments including Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi Government, Central Government, Indian Army, BSF, Rajasthan, and Odisha, are giving Rs. 56, 100 pay scale to Veterinary Officers, at par with Medical Officers. The decisions of the Hon'ble Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court of India are also being overlooked.
The media Advisor of the JAC, Dr. Gurinder Singh Walia, said that the shameless government has left no option for the educated class of society, the veterinary doctors to take to the roads for high light their genuine demands. He informed that Veterinary Officers, Senior Veterinary Officers, Assistant Directors, Deputy Directors, and retired veterinary doctors of the Animal Husbandry Department will participate in this protest march to be organized in Tarn Taran on Sunday, Nov 2.