CHOs get relief as HP Govt affirms no substitution with new contractual staff
Photo used for indicative purpose only. Source internet
Shimla, Dec 3,
In a major relief for hundreds of Community Health Officers (CHOs) serving across Himachal Pradesh, the State Government has assured the High Court that none of the currently engaged officers will be displaced in favour of a new outsourced workforce. Acting on this categorical undertaking, the single bench of Justice Sandeep Sharma has disposed of a petition filed by the All India Association of Community Health Officers and others on December 1.
The petitioners had approached the Court challenging a 2022 advertisement issued under the National Health Mission (NHM) for the recruitment of 723 CHOs. They argued that the State appeared to be initiating a fresh round of contractual hiring without considering the 627 CHOs who had already served for nearly three years after being selected through an official process conducted by HLL Lifecare Ltd., the authorised outsourcing agency. According to them, such an action would effectively replace one set of ad-hoc appointees with another—an approach repeatedly held impermissible by the courts.
During the hearing, however, the State Government clarified that no such displacement was ever intended. The Advocate General informed the bench that of the 1,500 sanctioned posts of CHOs across the State, 627 were already occupied and the pending recruitment process was meant solely to fill the remaining vacancies. He further produced a written communication issued on November 29, 2025, by the Mission Director, NHM, which stated in unambiguous terms that the currently working CHOs “shall not be replaced until regular appointments are made by the State Government or till the continuation of NHM by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, whichever is earlier.”
Taking note of this explicit stand, Justice Sandeep Sharma observed that the State’s assurance addressed the core apprehension of the petitioners. The Court reiterated the established principle that an existing set of contractual employees cannot simply be substituted with another set of ad-hoc workers. With this clarification on record, the bench disposed of the petition while granting the petitioners liberty to seek appropriate remedies in case any grievance persists or emerges in future.
The development brings clarity and temporary security to the service condition of over 600 CHOs who have been functioning in Community Health Centres and other public health institutions under the State’s health framework. For now, their continuation is protected until the State undertakes regular recruitment or the National Health Mission, under which they serve, continues to operate in its present form.
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