Lt Guv approves govt proposal to engage doctors on contract basis to tackle pandemic situation

Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi has given her nod to the Department of Health and Family Welfare to engage on contract basis health professionals, including doctors, to tackle the current COVID-19 pandemic situation in the Union Territory.

Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi has given her nod to the Department of Health and Family Welfare to engage on contract basis health professionals, including doctors, to tackle the current COVID-19 pandemic situation in the Union Territory. A release from the office of Lt Governor on Saturday, highlighting the approval she had accorded to various subjects during last one week, stated that approval was accorded to the Health Department to engage 458 health professionals including doctors in government hospitals to tackle the pandemic situation.

The Lt Governor has also approved of allocation of additional funds for engaging the health professionals. Shortage of doctors and nurses was a great hurdle for the health department to meet the requirements in the government hospitals in the Union Territory to treat the patients admitted with complaints of COVID-19.

The approval virtually clears the decks for the Health Department to go in for engaging doctors on contract basis as the number of COVID-19 cases had been on the increase. Another subject that has been approved by Bedi related to the implementation of the decision of the Council of Ministers for fixing the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate on petrol and diesel under the Puducherry VAT Act 2007 with effect from August 29.

There was however no mention of the VAT rate. The Lt Governor had also asked the government to issue a notification to amend the schedule under the Act.