NE NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR, MARCH 30
The Gujarat government on Wednesday informed the Legislative Assembly that over 1,600 MBBS graduates who passed out from state-run medical colleges during the last three years did not serve in rural areas as per the bond they have to sign at the time of admission.
Medical students in government colleges have to sign a bond promising to serve in rural areas for a year after completing studies. Doctors can break the bond by paying Rs 40 lakh to the government.
Between 2019 and 2021, as many as 1,630 medical graduates did not turn up for rural duties after finishing their course, said Health Minister Rushikesh Patel in his replies during Question Hour to a set of questions raised by Congress MLAs.
Of these 1,630 doctors, the state government is yet to recover Rs 49.35 crore from 1,155 doctors who had broken the bond and refused to serve in rural areas, said Patel.
He added that the process to recover this amount was currently on through relevant authorities.
Notably, the data tabled by Patel in the House revealed that the maximum number of doctors have refused to serve in tribal-dominated Dahod and Chhotaudepur districts.
While 377 doctors refused to serve in Dahod during the last three years, 242 did not turn up for their rural duties in Chhotaudepur district, the data showed.
Former Gujarat Health Minister Nitin Patel had once said in the Assembly that even doctors from scheduled tribe communities were not ready to serve in government hospitals in tribal regions after finishing their studies.
