79 Health Department Employees Dismissed for Rule Violations
In order, 79 employees working in the Malaria and Vector-Borne Diseases Department of the Health have been dismissed for appointments made against established rules. These employees, who held positions as senior field workers, field workers, and insect collectors, were found to have been irregularly appointed under the Regularisation Rules of 2016.
The issue came to light after a detailed investigation revealed that the appointments violated the criteria set by the Regularisation Rules, which stipulate that only employees who had worked as daily wage earners between 2001 and 2016 are eligible for regularisation. The 79 employees had left their positions midway, making their appointments invalid.
The investigation report, submitted by the Director (Administration), recommended the dismissal of these employees, and the government approved the action after several rounds of discussions. The employees had been made permanent under the regularisation process in 2019, but their appointments were deemed illegal.
Furthermore, the investigation found several high-ranking officials guilty of endorsing the wrongful appointments, including the then Director (Communicable), Director General, Additional Director Malaria, Joint Director Malaria, and two senior assistants. While the Director and Director General have already retired, action will be taken against the remaining officers still in service.
In response, the Additional Director of Malaria and VBD, Dr. AK Chaudhary, confirmed that the dismissal of the 79 employees was carried out under the directives of higher officials. The dismissed workers were posted in various districts including Azamgarh, Kanpur, Fatehpur, Ghaziabad, Ayodhya, Sultanpur, Jaunpur, Gorakhpur, Mirzapur, Ambedkar Nagar, Lucknow, Bahraich, Barabanki, Hardoi, Ghazipur, Moradabad, Unnao, and Meerut.
The government has now initiated a review of all appointments across the health department to prevent further irregularities, following the exposure of a fraud in the malaria department. This dismissal marks a significant step in addressing corruption and ensuring the integrity of appointments within the department.
