Tribunal halts Health Professional Allowance to non-teaching staff

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Medical Teaching Institution Appellate Tribunal has halted the payment of Health Professional Allowance to non-teaching staff by the Finance Department.

It declared that the allowance was being granted illegally and unconstitutionally without the approval of the provincial cabinet. The tribunal ruled that civil servants, MTI doctors, paramedical staff, and technicians were not entitled to the allowance unless approved by the cabinet.

The tribunal bench, headed by Chairman Justice (R) Abdul Shakoor and members Mansoor Tariq and Ghafoor Qureshi, issued this verdict while hearing appeals filed by Dr Zahoor Ahmad and Dr Muhammad Zahid.

The appellants, faculty members at Khyber Medical College, argued that they had been receiving the allowance, which was later discontinued.Recovery notices were issued on the grounds that they did not hold MBBS degrees. One appellant stated he holds a PhD and was receiving the allowance under a 2011 Finance Department notification approved by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor.

Subsequent notifications expanded the allowance payments to include Grade-21 doctors, paramedics, and nursing staff, including civil servants and MTI employees.The allowance was increased up to Rs 60,000 for doctors and set at Rs 42,000 per month for non-clinical institutional employees.

The tribunal’s 29-page verdict noted that a 2023 notification limited the allowance to MTI teaching faculty with MBBS degrees. Payments to the appellant continued until 2018. When asked to clarify under what authority the allowance was being paid to civil servants and MTI staff, the Finance Department failed to present any cabinet-approved documents and only referenced a Governor-approved notification.

The tribunal emphasized that, as per the provincial cabinet’s decision dated August 23, 2019, only teaching faculty of public sector medical colleges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were eligible for allowance. Denying the allowance to the appellants, who are involved in teaching and research, violates both a Peshawar High Court judgment and cabinet policy.

During proceedings, it was revealed that various non-teaching MTI employees, including clinical, technical, and demonstrator staff, were receiving the allowance, despite not being involved in teaching. These employees also received salaries and fees, and thus, the tribunal held, were not entitled to the allowance from the exchequer.

The Finance Department paid billions of rupees as allowance to civil servant doctors, paramedics, nursing staff, and MTI employees without legal authority.When the tribunal requested records, Finance Department officials admitted they had no data on the funds disbursed to these employees.

The tribunal expressed serious concern over potential misuse of authority by the Finance Department, which issued the allowance payments without cabinet approval, violating both the Constitution and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rules of Business.

It ruled that the governor lacks the authority to make administrative or financial decisions, and that only the provincial cabinet, headed by the chief minister, could approve grants, allowances, and funds. The tribunal clarified that even the chief minister could not independently approve or disburse funds.

It nullified all Health Professional Allowance-related notifications issued by the Finance Department. It ordered an immediate halt to the allowance payments to all civil servants and non-teaching MTI employees. The tribunal criticized the silence of the Boards of Governors and Policy Boards of MTI hospitals, stating they failed to fulfill their responsibilities.