On Thursday, Community Health Officers (CHOs) under the banner of the Rajasthan Association of Community Health Officers staged a strong protest outside the CMHO office. The protest was held to demand regularization of services, release of funds, and payment of 14 months’ pending incentives.

The CHOs submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister and the Director of National Health Mission (NHM) to Deputy CMHO Dr. Mahendra Singh Gurjar, urging immediate action.

🔹 Issue Rooted in Contractual Discrepancy

According to District President Rajesh Gurjar, the CHOs selected in the 2020 recruitment were appointed under NHM’s CSR rules 2022, but in May 2023, they were reappointed under the same rules, while other NHM contract workers were directly absorbed. This inconsistency is being called unjust and discriminatory.

As per the memorandum, more than 6,500 CHOs completed 3 years of service on 27 March 2023. While the rules require a 5-year service period for screening, Budget 2025-26 relaxed it to 3 years. Still, CHOs were not included in the screening, leading to frustration and uncertainty.

🔹 Key Demands Include:

1. Appointment date to be considered as 27 March 2020.
2. CHOs to be included in screening process.
3. Regularization under CSR rules.

🔹 14-Month Incentive Crisis

The CHOs also submitted a separate memorandum demanding the release of pending incentive funds. They informed that 243 CHOs in the district have not received their incentives for the past 14 months. Despite repeated appeals to district officials, the lack of funds has delayed payments.

The CHOs are facing severe financial hardship, and even salaries are delayed due to fund issues, impacting both morale and performance.

🔹 Who Participated?

Several CHOs including Lokesh Saini, Balwant Gurjar, Ramkishan Kumhar, Ummed Gurjar, Roshan Sharma, Saurabh Meena, Dileep Poswal, Surendra Meena, Dharmasingh Meena, Santosh Saini, Manish Sharma, and Sunil Shershiya were present during the protest.