Ranchi, June 13: Healers have sounded a war cry against the Arjun Munda government in Jharkhand.

The government’s announcement of the seniority list of doctors has sparked a row as the teachers in the three medical colleges of the state have not been included in it.

The advisory committee of the state government recently issued the provisional seniority list of government doctors. The objections are to be filed by June 23. The list, which comprises names of over 1,400 doctors did not have the names of 400 doctors teaching in the medical colleges of Jharkhand.

There are three medical colleges — Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Ranchi), Patliputra Medical College & Hospital (Dhanbad) and MGM Medical College & Hospital (Jamshedpur).

The government move has worried doctors, who fear that a split in the teaching and non-teaching cadres may invite trouble for the government and hamper health services in the state.

Sources said the non-inclusion of doctors from the list might pose problems as teaching has never been a separate cadre.

“There is no separate teaching cadre in Jharkhand and Bihar. The recruitment process for doctors in the state is the same and everyone must come under the common health cadre. Those from the health cadre, who fulfil the criteria for teachers, can apply for the teaching posts. They are put in the panel of teachers,’’ sources said.

“If offered or desired on the basis of seniority of the common health cadre, teachers of medical colleges can go to the non-teaching/clinical services. There are many junior teachers in medical colleges, who are posted as medical officers in Sadar, sub-divisional hospitals and primary health centres,” sources added.

Sources said, B. Mukhopadhyaya, professor of orthopaedics at Patna Medical College & Hospital was made the director-in-chief of health services. “Similarly, H.N. Singh, medicine, PMCH and A.K. Narayan from the then Rajendra Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) also became directors-in-chief. N.L. Mitra and M.O. Horo, both former RMCH principals, joined general health as additional directors,” sources said.

Jharkhand Health & Medical and Education Services, which welcomed the publication of the list, however, said it was done in a haphazard manner. “We appreciate the efforts of the government. But at the same time, we feel that the list should have been published after the cadre division,” said Asho Kumar Prasad, president of Jharkhand Health & Medical and Education Services.