India, Jan. 25 -- After more than a decade of administrative uncertainty, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has formally approved the posts of zonal medical officers (ZMOs), giving long-pending legitimacy to a key tier in the civic health administration and opening up long-stalled promotion avenues for doctors working in the corporation.

The decision was approved by Naval Kishor Ram, municipal commissioner, during the PMC general body on Tuesday.

The PMC has five posts of ZMO's that were created nearly ten years ago as per the direction of the municipal commissioner, but without formal approval from the general body. As a result, officers working as ZMOs had neither statutory authority nor eligibility for promotions, despite handling...