Bhubaneswar, December 27: The State Government on Saturday constituted a five-member inter-departmental committee to study and examine the demands of Odisha Medical Services Association (OMSA), an association of Government doctors.

The five-member committee, to be headed by General Administration and Public Grievance Department Additional Chief Secretary, will submit its report to the State Government after thoroughly examining the issues and demands of the doctors’ body.

Health and Family Welfare Department Commissioner-cum-Secretary will be member-convenor of the inter-departmental committee, which will include Commissioner-cum-Secretaries of Finance, Law department and Health Services Director as the members.

On Friday, doctors under the aegis of OMSA stopped OPD work across the State for an hour on Friday seeking the fulfilment of their demands, including pay parity, recruitment of more medicos, cadre restructuring and proper implementation of dynamic assured career progression (DACP).

The OMSA had threatened to halt OPD services and works related to National Health Mission (NHM) for at least one hour every day from Friday to press for their long-standing demands.

The demands include remuneration at par with the Central Government pay scale with abolition of level-15 as followed for other Class-I officers of the Odisha Government without any precondition, proportionate cadre restructuring of all grades, incremental incentives for super specialists, specialists, diploma-holding administrators along with postmortem allowance and equal benefits to OMHS and OMES cadres.

The doctors’ body also is also demanding transfer of doctors who have served in the KBK (Kalahandi-Balangir-Koraput) region for 5 to 10 years to their home districts or nearby areas. They are also seeking administrative and other allowances for doctors.