In Jammu and Kashmir, a committee convened by the Health and Medical Education Department has handed its report to the Union Territory government, proposing which health workers should receive two and a half days of additional pay for working Sundays and holidays. Public institutions keep running on the days most people rest, and this report asks who should be recognised for carrying that load. Yet the committee's own Financial Advisor cautioned that every added category becomes a permanent obligation, and the members did not agree on whether non-clinical staff belong on the list. The question
Health Dept Panel Recommends Extra Pay for Roster Staff; Financial Advisor Warns of Fiscal Strain
The cost would come back in every period for as long as the posts exist.
In Jammu and Kashmir, a committee convened by the Health and Medical Education Department has handed its report to the Union Territory government, proposing which health workers should receive two and a half days of additional pay for working Sundays and holidays. Public institutions keep running on the days most people rest, and this report asks who should be recognised for carrying that load. Yet the committee's own Financial Advisor cautioned that every added category becomes a permanent obligation, and the members did not agree on whether non-clinical staff belong on the list. The question now rests with the government, which must weigh the dignity of those who cover the calendar against the long memory of public budgets.
A committee set up by the Jammu and Kashmir government has finished its work on a question that touches every hospital in the region: which health workers should receive two and a half days of additional pay and allowances for roster duty on Sundays and holidays. The panel was formed in March under the Health and Medical Education Department, chaired by the Principal of Government Medical College Jammu, with directors from Jammu and Kashmir and the Chief Accounts Officer of GMC Rajouri among its members. Its brief covered non-gazetted employees and the categories eligible to cover those off-days.
The report, now in the hands of the Union Territory government, names the posts it considers eligible, though the account available here does not list them. It also carries a caution from the Financial Advisor, who warned that extending the benefit to many more categories could create a recurring liability. An allowance for roster duty does not end after one payment; it returns each period for as long as the posts exist.
The committee was not unified on non-clinical staff, those who do not work directly in patient care. The report does not say how the members divided on that point. The government must now decide whether to adopt the list as submitted, narrow it in line with the fiscal warning, or widen it. Its choice on non-clinical staff will show how much weight the cost concern carries.
A committee set up by the Jammu and Kashmir government has filed its report on which health workers should receive two and a half days of additional pay and allowances for roster duty. Mohinder Verma reported from Jammu on April 5 that the panel finished after detailed deliberations. The report goes to the Union Territory government, which has yet to say what it will do with it.
The committee was formed under Order No. 144-JK(HME) of 2026, dated March 11, 2026, by the Health and Medical Education Department. Its chairman is the Principal of Government Medical College Jammu. The other members are the Director Health Services Jammu, the Director Health Services Kashmir, and the Chief Accounts Officer of GMC Rajouri.
Its brief was specific. It was to examine granting two and a half days of pay and allowances to Non-Gazetted employees of the department. It was also to recommend which categories of employees may be engaged on roster duties in government health and medical institutions on Sundays and holidays, and so qualify for the benefit.
The report names the posts the committee considers eligible. The Daily Excelsior's account, as available here, does not list them.
The report also records a note of caution. The Financial Advisor, who sat on the committee as a member, warned against extending the benefit to a large number of additional categories. In his view, doing so could create a recurring financial liability and long-term fiscal stress. The concern is that an allowance tied to roster duty is not a one-time cost. It would come back in every period for as long as the eligible posts exist.
The report also shows a divergence over non-clinical staff, meaning employees who do not work directly in patient care. Whether they belong on the eligible list is where the committee's view is not unified. The report as described does not say who argued which side or how many members held each view.
The core tension is plain. Hospitals and medical institutions run on Sundays and holidays, and the staff who cover those days are the ones the allowance is meant to recognise. The more categories the list takes in, the larger the permanent bill for the Union Territory.
The next step is the government's. It must decide whether to accept the committee's list as submitted, narrow it in line with the Financial Advisor's warning, or widen it. The decision on non-clinical staff will show how much weight the fiscal concern carries.
Citazioni salienti
Extending the benefit to a large number of additional categories could lead to recurring financial liability and long-term fiscal stress (paraphrased).— Financial Advisor, committee member
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