Financial Advisor cautions against indiscriminate inclusion
Divergence emerges on inclusion of non-clinical staff
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 5: After detailed deliberations, a high-level committee has submitted its report to the Government of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir recommending the posts eligible for grant of two and half days additional pay and allowances in the Health and Medical Education Department. However, Financial Advisor, who was also a member of the committee, has cautioned that extending the benefit to a large number of additional categories could lead to recurring financial liability and long term fiscal stress.
Vide Order No.144-JK(HME) of 2026 dated March 11, 2026 a committee comprising Principal, Government Medical College Jammu (Chairman), Director Health Services Jammu, Director Health Services Kashmir and Chief Accounts Officer, GMC Rajouri (all Members) was constituted to examine the grant of two and half days pay and allowances in favour of Non-Gazetted employees of the Health and Medical Education Department and recommend the categories of employees who may be engaged on roster duties in the Government Health/Medical Institutions on Sundays and holidays for the purpose of grant of two and half days pay and allowances.
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During the deliberations, a view emerged in favour of extending the benefit beyond the already covered categories such as cadre of Nursing, Pharmacists, X-Ray and Anesthesia Unit, official sources told EXCELSIOR, adding “members supporting expansion argued that a number of non-clinical and support staff including those engaged in medical records, logistics and institutional management, also perform duties in shifts and contribute to the continuous functioning of hospitals”.
They maintained that limiting the benefit to select cadres would create disparities and affect staff morale, particularly when many of these employees share similar work schedules and operational pressures.
Contrary to this, the Financial Advisor, Government Medical College and Associated Hospital, Rajouri raised concerns over the financial sustainability of the proposal, cautioning that indiscriminate inclusion of additional categories could lead to a substantial increase in expenditure.
He, as per the sources, has advocated a more calibrated approach, suggesting that the benefit be restricted to categories directly linked with patient care and emergency services, where the intensity and criticality of work are significantly higher.
The divergence became more pronounced over the inclusion of certain categories such as medical records staff, hostel management personnel and other ancillary services, sources said, adding “while one section of the committee viewed these roles as integral to the healthcare delivery system given their involvement in essential operations on a daily basis, the Financial Advisor questioned whether their nature of duties justified parity with frontline clinical staff in terms of additional financial benefits”.
“The underlying objective and legislative intent behind the grant of two and a half days additional pay is to ensure uninterrupted patient care during Sundays and Gazetted Holidays by compensating only those categories of staff who are mandatorily required to be physical present on roaster duty as part of emergency and essential hospital services”, sources said quoting the stand of the Financial Advisor.
They further said, “as per the Financial Advisor, the benefit is compensatory in nature and not a general or routine allowance. It is strictly linked to actual duty discharge under exigent conditions where absence would directly impair delivery of patient care services”.
Further quoting the view point of the Financial Advisor, sources said, “certain categories of recommended posts don’t satisfy the essential eligibility criteria of direct and indispensable involvement in patient care services. These posts are largely administrative, supervisory, logistical or facilitative in nature and their inclusion represents a material deviation from the original scope and intent of the policy”.
It has also been observed that over time, the provisions of the Government order appear to have been liberally and inconsistently interpreted resulting in the inclusion of categories not directly connected with patient care.
Emphasizing that recommendations must be examined in the light of the principles of financial propriety as embodied in the General Financial Rules (GFR), the Financial Advisor has submitted that extending the benefits to categories not directly engaged in patient care would lead to creation of a recurring financial liability and long term fiscal stress.
“The inclusion of certain categories of posts may set an undesirable administrative precedent and open a Pandora’s Box, triggering similar claims from employees across other departments and this would lead to proliferation of demands lacking uniform criteria, administrative ambiguity in determining eligibility and weakening of internal financial controls and discipline”, the Financial Advisor has mentioned in his recommendations.
Despite the reservations expressed, the Chairperson of the committee supported a broader interpretation of eligibility, emphasizing that healthcare institutions operate as interdependent ecosystems, where even non-clinical functions are critical to ensuring seamless service delivery, sources informed.
“The issue is expected to be examined from both administrative and financial perspectives, with the Government likely to weigh the need for equitable compensation against the implications for the public exchequer before taking a call”, sources said.
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