Civic body gets full-time chief medical officer after 5-year wait

PUNE: The health department of the Pune Municipal Corporation has finally got a person at its helm.

Ramchandra Hankare, the joint director in the state health department, would take charge as the chief medical officer (CMO). He earlier worked as the district health officer in Sangli.

The city will have a full-time CMO nearly five years after the previous incumbent retried. R Pardeshi, the last full-time chief, retired in 2013. The city was dependent on an acting CMO since then. S T Pardeshi, who served as the acting head of the department, too, retired in 2017. The responsibilities of the department were split, and two senior officials of the PMC were given the charge.

The PMC had invited applications for the post of the CMO but did not get adequate response. It also wrote to the state government, seeking an official on deputation. The letter had stated that lack of qualified employees was making it difficult for the civic administration to fill up the post.

The health department of the PMC is one of the key government units in the city. It deals with public health, medical services, vaccination and national health mission initiative. It also runs scheme for urban poor.

The health department’s insect control department takes measures to prevent insect-borne diseases like dengue and malaria. It also has a veterinary section.

The PMC’s health department often drew flak for vector-borne diseases. Activists and political parties had raised the issue of the absence of a head of the department several times in the past.