Kohima, July 17 (MExN): Nagaland Government, on July 17, invoked Nagaland Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1978 (the Act) to bar the “call for indefinite cease work” by the Nagaland In-Service Doctors’ Association (NIDA) from July 18.
The Governor of Nagaland in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 (1) of the Nagaland Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1978 “prohibits the call for indefinite cease work by NIDA from 18th July 2022,” read the order issued by the State Chief Secretary.
“No doctor employed/deployed in any Government health unit/facility shall go for agitation or cessation of work, and any such act shall be considered illegal,” it added.
As per the order, the ceasing of work by doctors in “Government health units/facilities would seriously impact the delivery of essential health services” and put in “grave jeopardy the life and well-being of the people of the State” and hence the Act was invoked in “public interest.”
Under Section of the Act, any Government doctor participating in “cessation of work/strike,” on conviction, could be punished with imprisonment up to year or penalised with fine extending to Rs 1000 or both, the order further cautioned.
Likewise, any Government doctor against whom action is taken under Section 4 shall “also be liable to disciplinary action under the relevant service/conduct rules or contractual conditions as applicable, it added.
Notwithstanding anything contained in the CrPC, 1973, it further stated that under the Section 8 of the Act, any Police Officer “may arrest without warrant any doctor employed/deployed in any Government health unit/facility,” if the concerned doctor is “reasonably suspected of having committed the illegal act of ceasing work/going on strike.”
On July 11, the NIDA announced that it will resume its agitation from Monday (July 18) demanding the review of the cabinet decision on the superannuation issue of government doctors.
The phase-I from July 18-20 would be in the form of delivering only emergency services, to be followed by total cessation of work from July 21 if there is not positive response from the government.
