Guwahati: Rural Health Practitioners in Assam could soon receive a separate service cadre with defined pay scales, promotional avenues and employment benefits after the Gauhati High Court instructed the state government to complete the policy framework governing their service conditions.
Justice Soumitra Saikia directed the Assam government to fast-track the exercise already entrusted to a committee constituted for the purpose.
The panel has been asked to submit its recommendations within 90 days of receiving the certified copy of the order, following which the state must examine the report and take appropriate steps for its implementation.
According to the order, the committee will be required to formulate the eligibility norms, operational framework and other requirements governing Rural Health Practitioners, now recognised as Community Health Professionals.
It must also recommend the structure of an independent cadre covering salary, grade, healthcare benefits, service conditions and promotional opportunities.
The petition was filed by candidates who completed the Diploma in Medicine and Rural Health Care under the Assam Rural Health Regulatory Authority Act, 2004.
They were later registered as Community Health Professionals under the Assam Community Health Professionals (Registration and Competency) Act, 2015.
The petitioners stated that they had secured admission through a selection process conducted by the Director of Medical Education, Assam.
After successfully completing the diploma course, they were registered as Rural Health Practitioners and deployed in rural areas under the National Rural Health Mission.
They also argued that although the validity of the 2004 Act was under challenge, they were never made parties to those proceedings and no interim order had stopped admissions or the continuation of the programme.
According to the petitioners, the repeal of the 2004 legislation and its replacement by the 2015 Act resulted in their redesignation as Community Health Professionals, which they claimed reduced the professional standing they had earlier enjoyed as Rural Health Practitioners.
They argued that the benefits accrued under the repealed law remained protected and sought implementation of the Supreme Court’s directions, besides the creation of an independent cadre with full service benefits.
The Assam government submitted that the petitioners continue to serve under the National Health Mission after being registered as Community Health Professionals under the 2015 Act.
It also argued that the Supreme Court had already upheld the constitutional validity of the 2015 legislation and that the interests of the petitioners remained safeguarded under the existing legal framework.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s January 24, 2023 judgment in SLP (C) Nos. 32592-32593 of 2015, the High Court observed that the benefits earned by those who obtained their qualifications under the repealed 2004 Act had already been protected.
It further noted that the change in designation from Rural Health Practitioners to Community Health Professionals did not diminish the legal recognition of their qualifications because the doctrine of prospective overruling had preserved those rights.
The High Court further ruled that the diploma, training and practical experience acquired under the earlier legislation continue to remain valid despite the enactment of the 2015 law.
It observed that the state is required to preserve the professional status of these healthcare workers even though their official designation has changed.
The court also clarified that the government cannot restrict them from carrying out the functions they had previously performed as Rural Health Practitioners merely because they are now designated as Community Health Professionals.
Observing that a majority of India’s population continues to live in rural areas, the court stressed the importance of making trained healthcare personnel available in villages.
It said such professionals should be utilised alongside practitioners of allopathic, ayurvedic and homeopathic medicine wherever the state considers it necessary.