Health Minister Promises Prompt Regular Counselling for Service Post‑Graduate Doctors

Chennai – In a statement that feels part reassurance and part roadmap, Health Minister K.G. Arunraj said the government will organise regular, transparent counselling for service post‑graduate (PG) doctors "at the earliest". The counselling, he explained, will be anchored on the Civil Medical List (CML) and respect seniority, aiming to put an end to the confusion that has plagued recent batches.

Back in October 2026, about 800 service PGs finished their MD or MS programmes. Instead of the usual counselling process, they were handed temporary postings across the three health directorates. The move, reported earlier by The Hindu, sparked criticism because it bypassed the CML seniority order.

Arunraj acknowledged the uproar and traced the disruption to the lingering fallout from the COVID‑19 pandemic. "The pandemic threw a wrench into academic calendars and counselling timelines," he said. "Last year, doctors who cleared their exams in October only got counselling in December, leaving a three‑month gap in salary payments and other service formalities."

To plug that gap, the state rolled out the temporary‑posting scheme. "It was a stop‑gap, not a permanent fix," the minister stressed. He added that the temporary assignments were allocated based on the top three choices each doctor listed in their application, a detail meant to reassure that preferences were still being honoured.

Crucially, Arunraj promised that salary disbursement will commence from the first day of duty under these temporary posts, eliminating any further financial hiccups. "We will issue immediate guidelines so that no doctor faces a salary break," he asserted.

The minister also reminded everyone that the temporary arrangement is governed by Government Order 131. All positions filled through this stop‑gap will be formally notified in the forthcoming regular counselling, thereby cleaning up the backlog and restoring normalcy.

Looking ahead, the health department says it is tightening the counselling schedule, ensuring that future batches will not have to endure ad‑hoc postings. "Our aim is a smooth, delay‑free process for years to come," Arunraj concluded, signaling a commitment to both the doctors' welfare and the efficient functioning of Tamil Nadu’s health services.