MUMBAI: Resident doctors in civic hospitals will launch a phased protest from Wednesday as negotiations with the civic administration over non-implementation of revised dearness allowance (DA) and payment of arrears have failed.
The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (BMC MARD) said the agitation follows repeated meetings that yielded no outcome, even as revisions in DA were cleared three times but remained unimplemented. The doctors allege that despite a cumulative 31% increase in DA over several revisions, the revised rates do not reflect in their salaries.
Dearness allowance is a cost-of-living adjustment meant to offset inflation, and is revised periodically. According to the association, first-year resident doctors currently receive ₹43,857 as DA, and with the recent revision it should be ₹47,000. While second- and third-year residents are paid ₹44,522 and ₹45,186, respectively, with the revisions there should be a 31% increase. The cumulative revision in DA would amount to around ₹3,000 for each resident doctor.
The revisions include a 12% increase effective July 1, 2024, followed by an 11% hike from January 1, 2025, and another 8% from July 1, 2025. However, the association said these increments have not been implemented, leading to arrears of nearly ₹50,000 per doctor.
At present, monthly salaries are ₹81,000 for first-year residents, ₹82,000 for second-year, and ₹83,000 for third-year residents.
Announcing the protest, Dr Amar Agame, general secretary of BMC-MARD, said doctors will begin by wearing black ribbons from Wednesday. From Friday, those posted in operation theatres will proceed on mass leave, and the agitation will escalate if the demands are not met.
Deputy municipal commissioner DMC (public health) Sharad Ughade had earlier urged the doctors to defer their protest until April 17. However, with no resolution in sight, the doctors have decided to proceed, said Agame.
Shailesh Mohite, dean of the civic-run Nair Hospital and director of medical education and major hospitals in the BMC, said the delay was due to the absence of an authorised officer to sign the relevant documents. “The official concerned is on leave, which has held up the process. We have asked the doctors to wait until the official returns, but they have chosen to go ahead with the protest,” he said, insisting that the hold-up is procedural.
With essential services likely to be affected if the protest intensifies, the standoff will place the civic healthcare system under considerable strain unless a swift resolution is reached.
