Autonomous Status of AIIMS, PGIMER, JIPMER and Others Bars Inter-Institutional Transfers
New Delhi: The Centre has clarified that doctors, nurses and faculty members working in premier government health institutions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare cannot seek transfers between institutions on spouse grounds, as there is no provision allowing such movement between autonomous bodies.
The clarification was provided in the Lok Sabha in response to an unstarred question raised by MP Dharamvira Gandhi. The query sought detailed information about representations received over the past five years regarding a uniform spousal transfer or posting policy across autonomous medical institutions.
The institutions mentioned include the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences and North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, among others functioning under the Ministry.
The MP had asked whether employee associations, unions, MPs and ministers had submitted representations seeking a uniform policy for spousal postings in such institutions, and whether any requests had been rejected due to the absence of specific provisions in their respective Acts, Rules or Bye-laws.
He also sought clarification on whether the Acts or Rules of these bodies permit the application of Government of India guidelines in matters not explicitly covered, and if so, why the Department of Personnel and Training’s (DoPT) spousal posting guidelines dated September 30, 2009, and subsequent clarifications, were not being implemented.
Responding to the questions, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav confirmed that representations regarding transfers on spouse grounds between autonomous institutes have indeed been received over the years.
However, he emphasised that each autonomous institute operates as a separate legal entity. “All Autonomous Institutes are separate entities, and there is no provision to transfer employees from one Autonomous Institute to another,” he stated, effectively ruling out inter-institutional transfers under the current framework.
The government did not indicate any immediate proposal to introduce uniform guidelines for spousal transfers across these institutions, underscoring that any such move would require structural or statutory changes to the governing frameworks of the respective autonomous bodies.
