Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The State Government streamlined the regulations governing the approval of study leaves and salary drawbacks for physicians employed by the Odisha Homeopathic Service (OHMS) cadre in an additional move to promote homeopathic specialization and super specialization studies. Without waiting for approval of the study leave, all Chief District Medical & Public Health Officers (CDM&PHOs) were instructed to take their monthly salaries.
The salary of “Medical Officers under OMHS cadre pursuing PG or Super specialization would be drawn by the relieving authority on receipt of absentee statement from the institutions where Medical Officer is currently pursuing PG/Super specialization every month without waiting for sanction of study leave,” Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Shalini Pandit clarified while issuing guidelines to this effect. Before disbursing salaries, all CDM&PHOs would retain an undertaking and an affidavit from the regular in-service physicians regarding the following:
(i) Whether to receive salary or to receive stipend from the institution where they pursue PG/Super specialisation study in lieu of salary of OMHS cadre.
(ii) In case of discontinuance of the PG/Super specialisation study, the doctor concerned would refund the entire salary received for the study leave period.
The concerned CDM&PHOs will be in charge of releasing the officers’ salaries in support of their higher education pursuits once this undertaking and affidavit are in place.
Pandit also made it clear that medical officers pursuing PG/Super specialization on the date of the Finance Department Memorandum No. 10235 notification, dated 31.03.2023, would be qualified to receive salary drawback for the balance of their PG/Super specialization beginning on April 1, 2023. Prior to joining the OMHS cadre, the newly recruited Medical Officers who were enrolled in PG/Super specialization were instructed to submit the necessary information to the appropriate CDM & PHOs/MO, I/c for the creation of their HRMS ID and NPS ID in order to draw their salary on time. The government’s decisions to support higher education were welcomed by the OHMS Medical officers, who anticipated that they would no longer have to worry about everyday concerns such as obtaining study leave approval and salary deductions.
