Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 7 (PTI) Keralam Health Minister K Muraleedharan on Saturday said the state government would order an inquiry into appointments made under the NHM, alleging that more staff had been appointed than required in several positions.
"We are examining the issue. In some places, six appointments have been made against a single post. There was no need to appoint so many people unnecessarily and spend money on their salaries," under the National Health Mission (NHM), he told reporters.
The minister said the government was not taking a blanket decision against renewing the services of NHM employees and was adopting a considerate approach.
Around 17,000 employees are working under the NHM in the state, of whom around 1,400 had been identified for scrutiny, he said.
"We will hear their grievances. We will certainly give priority to those with no other employment opportunities. We will not remove anyone arbitrarily. This is not about dismissing employees," he said.
Muraleedharan, who also holds the Devaswom portfolio, said the government was monitoring the production of Aravana payasam by the Travancore Devaswom Board ahead of the forthcoming Sabarimala pilgrimage season.
Aravana, a sweet preparation made using jaggery, is distributed to devotees at the Lord Ayyappa temple.
The board has informed the government that it would supply 75 lakh containers of Aravana during the pilgrimage season, the minister added.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)