Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has asked the state government to fill up all vacant posts of doctors in the state within 12 weeks and provide basic infrastructure facilities in primary health centres and dispensaries, mainly those located in tribal and remote areas.
Disposing a PIL filed by an advocate, division bench of Chief Justice V Gopala Gowda and Justice B N Mohapatra in its verdict yesterday also asked the state government to file a compliance report after filling all posts of doctors which are lying vacant for the past several years.
Expressing concern over the lack of basic amenities in many hospitals, the High Court asked the government to ensure that apart from infrastructure facilities, the health centers should have adequate staff and proper drinking water facility and the patients should be provided with cooked food as per the policy decision of the state government.
Following last September`s cholera outbreak in Rayagada district, advocate Dilip Mohapatra, through a PIL, had sought the High Court intervention alleging that health services in all tribal districts of the state are in a very poor state.
He had brought to the notice of the HC that despite 284 posts of doctors lying vacant in Koraput district and another 80 posts lying vacant in Kalahandi district, the state government had not bothered to post a single doctor in these two districts during the last two years.
Responding to the HC notice, the state government had informed the court last year that out of 4,258 sanctioned posts of allopathic doctors in the state, as many as 1,085 posts were lying vacant.
The government, however, had informed that efforts were on to fill up the vacant posts of doctors on contractual appointments.
PTI
