SHC orders depositing stipend, Covid allowance for KMC doctors

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday directed the Sindh finance secretary, local government secretary and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation to deposit the stipend amount and Covid-19 health risk allowance of the KMC’s doctors.

The high court was hearing petitions of doctors working under the KMC against non-issuance of stipends and Covid-19 health risk allowance. The petitioner’s counsel submitted that they were entitled to a stipend of Rs45,000 per month as per a notification issued on April 2, 2019, as well as the Covid-19 health risk allowance at the monthly rate of Rs10,000, which was not being given to the petitioners.

An additional advocate general submitted that the house job stipend at a rate of Rs30,000 had been deposited in the accounts of the petitioners, to which the counsel stated that the petitioners wanted Rs45,000 per month as per the notification.

A division bench of the SJC comprising Justice Aftab Ahmed Gorar and Justice Adnanul Karim Memon observed that its appeared that the orders of the court had not been complied with. A provincial law officer submitted that the finance department had approved and released funds amounting to Rs100 million as a one-time grant in aid for payment of enhanced salaries and stipend allowance to the medical employees of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and they had been placed at disposal of the administrative department, which in the present case was the local government department.

The law officer submitted that it was the KMC that had to clear all the stipends and other dues of the petitioners as per the policy. A counsel for the KMC submitted that the corporation was facing serious financial crises and the local government department had not released funds to the KMC for the purpose of paying revised stipends to the house job officers and the Covid-19 allowance to the frontline health workers despite repeated requests.

He agreed in principle to pay the stipend to the petitioners at the rate of Rs45,000 subject to release of payment by the local government department. He further submitted that in the matter of arrears of salaries of the house officers of the Karachi Medical and Dental College (KMDC), the same institute was suffering from acute financial crises with liabilities of more than Rs200,172,772, including salaries, pensions, provident funds and other liabilities related to salaries.

He said that the salaries of house officers of the KMDC had been paid for seven months as per their appointment of a one-year period and the remaining outstanding amount would be paid accordingly.

The high court directed the finance secretary, local government secretary and KMC’s concerned authority to deposit the subject stipend amount and Covid-19 health risk allowance for the petitioners as per the notifications.