Resident Doctors in Rajasthan claim that they haven’t been paid for several months now.

These doctors, who work in medical colleges under the Rajasthan Medical Education Society (RajMES), state that the MD/MS/DNB Resident Doctors from batch of 2023 haven’t been paid their salaries for one year, and Resident Doctors from the batch of 2024 haven’t received their stipends for the last five months.

In a formal complaint to the Director of RajMES issued yesterday, June 2, the All Rajasthan RajMES Resident Doctors’ Association stated that this situation has left resident doctors with “severe financial and emotional distress.”

The RDA stated in their letter that despite approaching the principals of concerned medical colleges through “multiple letters”, no “concrete solution” was given to them.

“When we approached our colleges seeking updates, we were repeatedly told that the college lacked funds to pay us,” a resident doctor from the state told EdexLive on the condition of anonymity, attesting to the claim. He added that colleges which had sufficient funds did pay their resident doctors.

As a result, the association requested the director to “ensure the approval of the necessary budget to facilitate the payment of the outstanding stipend/salary of the resident doctors.”

“Resident doctors are the backbone of medical education and healthcare services, performing their duties with dedication even in challenging circumstances. Withholding their stipend/salary is not only unjust but also adversely affects their efficiency and morale,” the association pleaded.

This plea has been responded to positively by the director, Dr Jakir Khan, President of the RDA, told EdexLive.

“When we met the director yesterday and told him about our grievances, he assured us that the RajMES would resolve it. He flagged our complaint to the revenue department in our presence itself,” Dr Khan said.

He further added that the director sought two weeks’ time to work out the solution to their problem.

“The director informed us that the 2023 batch resident doctors would receive their salaries in the next 10 days, and that the 2024 batch resident doctors would receive their stipends in the next 15 days,” Dr Khan informed.