MOHALI: Veterinary Officers of Department of Animal Husbandry in Punjab have announced to hold a 'state-level protest' to 'vent their ire' against the Punjab Government, for not meeting their legitimate demand of pay parity with Medical Officers of health department, at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh.
A march would also be held on the streets of Khatkar Kalan to let people know , how the government is treating technocrats and dreams of Bhagat Singh were being given a go by.
Dr Gurcharan Singh, Convener of the "Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Vets for Pay-Parity" stated that veterinary doctors across Punjab have been fighting for pay parity with medical doctors and the restoration of DACP scheme (Dynamic Assured Career Progression) for the past four and a half years. The pay parity, which had been in place for the past over 42 years, was abolished by the previous Congress government in January 2021. The veterinary doctors' basic pay scale was reduced from ₹56, 100 to ₹47, 600, and they are now demanding its restoration to the original amount.
Dr Gurcharan highlighted that other states and organizations, including Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, the Central Government, the Indian Army, BSF, Rajasthan, Odisha, Haryana etc all provide veterinary officers with the same ₹56, 100 pay scale as medical officers. He called the Punjab government's differential treatment "unbearable, " baseless, and a "mental torture." He also pointed out that the decision by the previous government was made despite rulings from the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court of India in favour of pay parity.
According to Dr. Puneet Malhotra and Dr Abdul Mazid, Co-Conveners of the Joint Action Committee, the committee has continuously worked to restore pay parity. They have submitted multiple memoranda to the heads of the Animal Husbandry Department, senior officials, and ministers, including Kuldeep Dhaliwal, Lal Singh Bhullar, and Gurmeet Singh Khuddian. Several meetings have also been held with a Ministers' Sub-committee headed by Punjab's Finance Minister, Harpal Singh Cheema. "Despite promises from the government that pay parity would be restored, the veterinary doctors have only received empty assurances, forcing them to resume their protest", they added.
Dr Tejinder Singh, Coordinator, JAC criticized the current government for failing to correct the "wrong decisions" of the previous administration. He noted that the government's delaying tactics have driven many talented veterinary doctors to leave Punjab for better opportunities abroad, a fact that Chief Minister Sardar Bhagwant Singh Mann himself has acknowledged in the Vidhan Sabha. He urged the Chief Minister to intervene immediately to resolve the doctors' demands.
The protest on August 11 is intended to remind the government of its ideology.
Dr Gurinder Singh Walia, Media Advisor. JAC lamented that educated professionals who treat voiceless animals have been forced onto the streets by the government's indifference to their legitimate demands. "The pay commissions always recommend hike to the employees commensurate with inflation, but it is first time in history that pay scale of a category has been reduced without any logic and rationale".
The protest will be joined by not only veterinary officers but also Senior Veterinary Officers, Assistant Directors, Deputy Directors, and retired veterinary doctors from all over the state.