Amarjit singh ponch
Poonch, September 14, 2026:
Adv. Bhanu Partap today visited District Hospital Poonch and met the protesting NHM doctors, paramedics and other healthcare employees, extending his full support to their genuine and long-pending demands.
Speaking with the protesting employees, Adv. Bhanu Partap said that NHM workers have been serving the people of Jammu & Kashmir for years, often under difficult circumstances and particularly in border districts like Poonch. Despite their important role in keeping the public healthcare system functioning, many of them continue to work without proper job security and long-term service benefits.
He appealed to Health & Medical Education Minister Madam Sakina Itoo Ji and Union Health Minister Sh. J.P. Nadda Ji to personally look into the issue and formulate a clear, fair and time-bound policy for regularisation/job security of eligible NHM employees.
Adv. Bhanu Partap said the government should consider the following genuine concerns of NHM employees:
- Regularisation/job policy for eligible long-serving NHM employees.
- Salary hike and pay revision keeping in view inflation and their responsibilities.
- Implementation of 7th Pay Commission benefits or an appropriate equivalent pay structure.
- Equal pay for equal work where employees are performing similar duties.
- Uniform service bylaws and service conditions across J&K.
- Social security benefits for employees and their families.
- Retirement benefits for those who have devoted many years to NHM services.
- Compensation to families in case of in-service death of an NHM employee.
- Consideration of a Golden Handshake/appropriate exit benefit for long-serving employees who cannot be regularised.
- Job security and a transparent transfer policy to prevent arbitrary termination or displacement.
Adv. Bhanu Partap said that the issue of NHM employees should not be viewed merely as an employment dispute.
“These are people who have spent years looking after our patients, working in hospitals, health centres and difficult areas. They have served the public when their services were needed the most. Their future cannot remain uncertain indefinitely. The Government should sit with them, listen to their concerns and find a practical and dignified solution,” he said.
He further appealed to the authorities to initiate meaningful dialogue with the protesting employees and their representatives and take concrete steps towards resolving their demands within a definite timeframe.
Adv. Bhanu Partap also urged the protesting healthcare workers to continue their agitation peacefully while ensuring that emergency and essential healthcare services are not affected, so that patients do not suffer.
“NHM employees are an important part of our healthcare system. Giving them dignity, security and fair service conditions is not only in the interest of employees—it is also in the interest of the people of J&K and the healthcare system itself,” Adv. Bhanu Partap said.
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