The Centre on Thursday directed all states and union territories to ensure timely payment of salaries to doctors and healthcare workers engaged in treating COVID-19 patients and warned of action against hospitals and authorities for non-compliance of the order.
The order by the Union Health Ministry comes a day after the Supreme Court asked the Centre to issue directions to states for payment of salaries and providing necessary quarantine facilities to doctors and healthcare workers involved in treating COVID-19 patients.
The government had told the court it would issue the necessary directions.
"...it is hereby directed that the states and UT administration should ensure that salaries of doctors and health workers doing COVID-19 related duty shall be released on time," the order issued by Union health secretary Preeti Sudan read.
"The Chief Secretary of the states/UTs should ensure compliance of this order by all concerned, violation of which will be treated as an offence under the Disaster Management Act read with the IPC, and action taken accordingly against defaulting hospitals/institutions/ authorities," the order said.
The apex court issued the order on Wednesday while hearing a plea filed by a private doctor raising questions on the Centre's May 15 decision that 14-day quarantine was not mandatory for doctors.
Doctor Arushi Jain, in her petition filed through advocates Mithu Jain and Arjun Syal, had alleged that frontline healthcare workers engaged in the fight against COVID-19 were either not being paid salaries or their wages were being cut or delayed.
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