The Maharashtra public health department has suspended two assistant directors responsible for family welfare programmes in Pune after a high-level review found serious lapses in the supervision of child health and family planning schemes. The department has also ordered an inquiry into the officials for alleged dereliction of duty.
The review was conducted by the principal secretary of the public health department on October 12. According to the findings cited in the suspension orders, one officer was responsible for the child health programme and the other for the family planning programme. The department said the officials had not conducted field visits or effectively carried out their assigned responsibilities.
The officials’ performance was described as “extremely unsatisfactory” in the departmental action. The two officers will remain suspended while the inquiry proceeds. The orders do not specify when the investigations will be completed or what further disciplinary action may follow.
During the suspension period, the officers will have Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar general hospital as their headquarters. They will not be permitted to leave the headquarters without prior approval. The orders also prohibit them from taking up private employment or engaging in trade, business or industry while under suspension.
The restrictions have been imposed under Rule 16 of the Maharashtra Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1979. The department’s orders state that any violation would be treated as misconduct and could lead to additional disciplinary action. The officers will remain eligible for subsistence allowance and other admissible payments under Rule 68 of the Maharashtra Civil Services (Joining Time, Foreign Service and Payments during Suspension, Dismissal and Removal) Rules, 1981.
The department is expected to appoint interim heads for the two programmes. Officials said the action signalled that weak monitoring would not be tolerated in programmes that directly affect maternal and child health.
Child health services covered by the programme include immunisation, nutrition and early detection of illnesses. Family planning services include counselling, contraceptive supply and follow-up care. These functions depend on field-level monitoring, coordination with local health facilities and timely identification of gaps in service delivery.
The suspension brings administrative supervision into focus because the programmes operate through routine public health systems rather than isolated interventions. A failure to conduct field visits can limit the department’s ability to identify operational problems, although the suspension orders themselves do not specify any particular service disruption or beneficiary impact.
The Maharashtra public health department’s inquiry will determine whether the lapses amounted to dereliction of duty and whether further action is warranted. The department has not announced a timeline for completing the investigations. Its immediate next step is the appointment of interim heads for the child health and family planning programmes.
