AERIAL VIEW
The present decision, according to sources, was taken due to the Medical Council of India (MCI) inspection in May. Sources say that MCI does not allow one person to hold more than one post.
The current Acting Dean, Dr Shivanand Bandekar, is just holding the officiating charge as the actual then Dr Pradeep Naik was transferred to Secretariat pending inquiry. However, last year Dr Naik retired from service.
Dr Bandekar seems to have become the whole and soul of the Goa Health sector as he is the Officiating Dean, is also the Medical Superintendent of GMC, is also the head of the department in the Orthopaedic section, and besides all this, all the COVID hospitals were brought under GMC, which meant he was in charge of all the COVID hospitals also.
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkarponn
Well, it was a kind of FIRST DAY FIRST SHOW in the Goa Government with the very first order issued by the Department of Personnel, which comes under the Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, had to be kept pending after a high drama last evening.
The Department of Personnel issued the order stating that as per the recommendations of the Goa Public Service Commission, Dr Jaiprakash Tiwari has been appointed the Dean.
However, soon after the order went viral, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane stormed into CM’s bungalow at Altinho and asked him to take back his order. Emerging out of the meeting, he told reporters that the order had been kept on hold and Dr Shivanand Bandekar would continue to be the acting Dean.
The rivalry between Sawant and Vishwajit over the
Goa Medical College and Health department is nothing new. Sawant had unsuccessfully attempted earlier, too, during the COVID19 pandemic, to remove Dr Bandekar but met stiff resistance from Vishwajit.
The present decision, according to sources, was taken due to the Medical Council of India (MCI) inspection in May. Sources say that MCI does not allow one person to hold more than one post.
The current Acting Dean, Dr Shivanand Bandekar, is just holding the officiating charge as the actual then Dr Pradeep Naik was transferred to Secretariat pending inquiry. However, last year Dr Naik retired from service.
Dr Bandekar seems to have become the whole and soul of the Goa Health sector as he is the Officiating Dean, is also the Medical Superintendent of GMC, is also the head of the department in the Orthopaedic section, and besides all this, all the COVID hospitals were brought under GMC, which meant he was in charge of all the COVID hospitals also.
Now, the question is it humanely possible for a person to hold so many charges at one time? Or was it due to the sheer greed of the Health Minister to manipulate things through just one man – Dr Bandekar?
Not just the post of Dean, Dr Bandekar has failed to do justification for the position of even Medical Superintendent.
After the retirement of Dr Rajan Kunkaliekar, from the post of Medical Superintend of GMC, that post is also vacant. Again here, too, Dr Bandekar officiates as Medical Superintendent, who holds the third post of professor and head of the orthopaedic department.
One needs to ask the Health minister what he wants to say, that there is only one efficient doctor all post, and that is Dr Bandekar.
The fact is that different posts are created in the government system to maintain checks and balances.
The Health Minister has indirectly finished this system to have his say.
Now, Dr Bandekar proposes certain financial things as Medical Superintended; he himself agrees with them as the Dean, GMC.
So, no third person comes to know regarding fixing between Dean and Health Minister.
That is how this Wellness Forever pharmacy, Sodexo etc., came only after shunting out regular Dean.
The real reason for shunting out Dr Pradip Naik was that he did not sign any illegal things.
The issue also brings to the fore the cracks in Sawant Cabinet. Vishajit Rane, who was denied CMs chair, will always use the arm-twisting tactics. We have already seen in portfolios as he got the major chunk in the portfolio distribution.
Sources reveal that Rane enjoys good repo with Home Ministre Amit Shah and would not take any diktats of Pramod Sawant lying down.
It would be interesting to see what is teh reaction of CM on the issue as he is yet to react on the same.
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