Doctors across Telangana have strongly criticised the State Government’s recent order expanding the Telangana Medical Council (TGMC) by adding four more ex officio members, increasing its total strength from 25 to 29. The move, effected through Government Order (G.O.) 229 issued on December 22, 2025, has triggered widespread opposition from the medical fraternity, which views it as an encroachment on the autonomy of the statutory body.
Details of the Government Order
Under G.O. 229, the Telangana Health Department nominated eight ex officio members to the TGMC, including senior bureaucrats and officials such as the Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare, Director of Medical Education, Director of Health and Family Welfare, TVVP Commissioner, Vice-Chancellor of KNR University of Health Sciences, CEO of Arogyasri Health Care Trust, a senior Health Department secretary, and the Director of NIMS, Hyderabad. Prior to this order, the council comprised 13 elected doctor representatives, six government nominees, two KNRUHS members, and four ex officio officials.
Concerns Over Non-Medical Dominance
Doctors’ organisations have expressed alarm that most of the newly added members are non-doctors and bureaucrats. Associations including HRDA, IMA Telangana, T-JUDA, TSRDA, TTGDA, AIDSA and others have questioned the rationale behind increasing non-medical representation in a body meant to regulate medical education, ethics, and professional standards. They argue that such changes dilute doctors’ decision-making authority and undermine professional self-regulation.
HRDA Calls Move a ‘Backdoor Takeover’
In a strongly worded statement, the Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA) condemned the order as a “backdoor takeover” of the Medical Council. The association said the expansion artificially alters the council’s composition and pushes elected doctor representatives into a minority, violating the spirit of the Telangana Medical Practitioners Registration Act, 1968. HRDA further alleged that the move threatens the council’s autonomy, especially at a time when it has been actively pursuing an anti-quackery drive to safeguard patient safety.
Demand for Withdrawal and Warning of Protests
Medical bodies including T-JUDA, TTGDA and IMA Telangana have demanded the immediate withdrawal of G.O. 229, stressing that medical councils must remain doctor-led and free from bureaucratic dominance. Warning of democratic protests and legal action if the order is not revoked, the organisations stated that weakening professional autonomy would ultimately harm patient care and public health.
