Chandigarh, Nov. 15 -- The Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA) on Friday submitted a memorandum to the Director General Health Services (DGHS) expressing resentment and seeking urgent government intervention on the issue of direct recruitment of senior medical officers (SMOs) and bringing the assured career progression (ACP) structure at par with the central government. In a statement, the HCMS Association said that government doctors will be forced to resort to mass resignation and statewide agitation if these issues are not resolved in a time bound manner. A meeting of the HCMSA action committee will be held on November 15 to review the government's response and decide future course of action, the statement said. HCMSA president Dr Rajesh Khyalia said that about 100 HCMS doctors gathered today at the DGHS office at Panchkula, to protest the two issues concerning government doctors. "The association strongly opposed the initiation of a process to direct recruitment of SMOs. The then health minister Anil Vij had ordered to stop direct SMO recruitment. Subsequently, the association had resorted to an agitation last year which resulted in an assurance at the highest level that no direct SMO recruitment would be undertaken in the future. However, the process has once again been initiated, which has disappointed the medical fraternity," said the statement. Dr Khyalia said the state government had agreed to implement the modified ACP structure for HCMS doctors last year and it was duly approved by the chief minister. The concurrence of the finance department was also obtained in August 2024. "Regrettably, even after more than a year, and despite multiple requests and reminders, the notification has not yet been issued," the association president said.The statement said that HCMS doctors have met and requested the authorities several times to resolve these critical issues but no tangible action has been taken. "The DGHS was requested to convey our concerns to the state government and to formulate a concrete roadmap to resolve these grievances," Dr Khyalia said....