Lok Sabha Question No. 4825 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-20
Subject: NHM Employee Payment Delays
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Dr. Mallu Ravi

## GOVERNMENT OFINDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4825 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20THMARCH, 2026

## NHMEMPLOYEEPAYMENTDELAYS

## 4825. DR. MALLU RAVI:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether employees under National Health Mission (NHM) in Nagarkurnool in Telangana have faced delayed salaries during the last three years;
- (b) the number of staff affected and the duration of such payment delays;
- (c) whether service delivery, outreach or immunisation programmes have been disrupted as a result of the same, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether grievance redressal mechanisms exist for frontline health staff, if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether any contingency plans exists to ensure uninterrupted health services, if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the steps proposed by the Government to guarantee timely payment of remuneration and operational continuity?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV)

(a) to (f): Health is a state subject and matters related to recruitment, remuneration and disbursement of salaries to staff engaged under the National Health Mission (NHM) are within the purview of the respective State/UT Governments.

The National Health Mission (NHM) provides support for improvement in health infrastructure, availability of adequate human resources in health facilities, to improve availability and accessibility to quality healthcare across the country including Nagarkurnool in Telangana. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare provides technical and financial support to the States/UTs to strengthen the public healthcare system, based on the proposals received in the form of Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) under NHM. Government of India provides approval for the proposals in the form of Record of Proceedings (RoPs) as per norms & available resources.

The Human Resources for Health (HRH) guidelines under NHM mandate a formal Grievance Redressal Policy with a structured escalation matrix to ensure that employee concerns are addressed systematically and within specific timeframes. Under the policy, establishment of a Grievance Redressal Committee for HRH at different levels is recommended. The States are advised to create both online and offline facilities for receiving grievances of the employees and ascertain time bound resolution with utmost confidentiality and sensitivity.

As reported by Government of Telangana, there are no delays in remuneration for the last three years, no disruption in service delivery, outreach or immunization programmes and grievance redressal mechanism already exists in Telangana State.

The Government of India has taken number of initiatives in the form of incentives and honorarium to the medical professionals for encouraging better service delivery in rural and remote areas across the country including Telangana, which include:

-  Hard Area Allowance to specialist doctors for serving in rural and remote areas so that they find it attractive to serve in public health facilities in such areas.
-  States are also allowed to offer negotiable salary to attract specialist including flexibility in strategies such as ' You Quote We Pay ' .
-  Non-monetary incentives such as preferential admission in postgraduate courses for staff serving in difficult areas and improving accommodation arrangement in rural areas have also been introduced under NHM.
-  Multi-skilling of doctors is supported under NHM to overcome the shortage of specialists such as Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) and Life Saving Anaesthesia Skills (LSAS).

This Ministry regularly reviews the implementation of NHM with States/UTs through periodic review meetings and monitoring mechanisms to ensure effective utilization of funds and continuity of service delivery.

Further, SNA SPARSH mechanism is implemented in 31 States/UTs under NHM. This facilitates just in time fund flow and promotes effective cash management. States/UTs submit their proposals through the annual Programme Implementation Plan (PIP), and based on the available resource envelope (RE), the Government of India grants approvals in the Record of Proceedings (ROP) including indicators and targets for the States.

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