CHANDIGARH, PB — In a scathing critique of public health administration, the Punjab & Haryana High Court has declared that medical facilities lacking necessary personnel are nothing more than “bricks and mortar” structures. Presiding over a significant public-welfare petition, Justice Sandeep Moudgil flagged a “disturbing picture” of uneven deployment of Ayurvedic Medical Officers (AMOs) across Haryana, ruling that concentration of personnel at urban stations directly deprives rural populations of their constitutional right to healthcare.
The single bench made it clear that healthcare under a welfare state governed by constitutional morality cannot remain a matter of mere paper assurances. Consequently, the High Court directed the Director of the Haryana AYUSH Department to complete a comprehensive, requirement-based redistribution of doctors within two weeks, with a strict compliance deadline set for May 27, 2026.
Urban Clustered Surplus Leaves Rural Dispatches Dark
The judicial intervention stems from ongoing civil writ petitions tracking major shortages and staffing imbalances within Government Ayurvedic Dispensaries and Primary Health Clinics (PHCs). An examination of official records revealed that while rural and underserved regions face complete operational paralysis due to vacant posts, urban administrative zones are heavily oversaturated.
Specifically, the High Court noted that 97 Ayurvedic Medical Officers were functioning as completely surplus staff at convenient urban stations. Meanwhile, countless rural clinics across the state continue to function with severely inadequate staff or without any assigned medical officer at all.
The Court sharply criticized the administrative practices allowing doctors to cluster in urban areas, declaring that employee convenience must yield to constitutional necessity regarding public health. Justice Moudgil emphasized that urban saturation cannot come at the cost of rural healthcare access.
The Crisis of 603 Unfilled Vacancies
Further investigation revealed a wider crisis: over 603 sanctioned Ayurvedic Medical Officer positions remain vacant. Despite recruitment processes for these roles being finalized by 2025 following advertisements in 2023, the state has failed to appoint these candidates, further exacerbating the rural health crisis.
