Public health at risk as State abolishes Health Officer’s post

Mysore/Mysuru: The State Government has abolished the post of Health Officer in the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC). This move has triggered serious concerns about the city’s preparedness to handle outbreaks of communicable diseases such as cholera and dengue.

With the post scrapped, the responsibilities of the Health Officer will now be handled additionally by the Executive Engineer of the Corporation’s Environment Department, a decision critics say undermines decades of public health safeguards.

While five City Corporations within the Greater Bengaluru Authority limits will continue to have designated Health Officers, the Government has eliminated the post in all other City Corporations across the State, including Mysuru. As a result, the task of preventing, managing and controlling disease outbreaks will now rest with officials who lack medical or public health training.

Until recently, Health Officers were qualified doctors — MBBS graduates with postgraduate degrees or diplomas in public health from institutions such as the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru.

Many were deputed from the Department of Health and Family Welfare, bringing specialised expertise to municipal governance.

Key role in public health

Health Officers played a critical role in safeguarding public health. They led responses to outbreaks of communicable diseases, determined vaccination requirements for schoolchildren, inspected and certified food distribution during public events and ensured contaminated water samples were immediately tested to prevent the spread of infection.

They also inspected primary health centres within city limits and addressed deficiencies.

Despite this, the Government has abolished the post, sidelining trained medical professionals with specialised public health experience.

The decision has sparked widespread concern among health experts, who warn that shifting these responsibilities to Executive Engineers of the Environment Department raises serious questions about the city’s ability to respond swiftly and effectively during public health emergencies.

A doctor who earlier served as Health Officer in the MCC, and has since been transferred, warned that the absence of trained Health  Officers would leave a dangerous gap in disease surveillance and outbreak control.

“These responsibilities require specialised knowledge and experience,” the doctor said, adding that without qualified public health professionals, managing complex health challenges would become increasingly difficult.

Public health experts fear that abolishing the post of Health Officer in City Corporations could severely weaken disease control mechanisms, leaving cities vulnerable at a time when rapid urbanisation and climate-related health risks are on the rise.

‘We will speak with CM to retain critical post’

The role of Health Officers cannot be reduced merely to sanitation work. In urban areas, people frequently suffer from diseases such as dengue and cholera, and in such situations, the guidance and expertise of trained doctors are essential. We have seen how Mysuru suffered during COVID-19, and the presence of a Health Officer helped minimise the spread of the disease and the number of deaths.

An Executive Engineer of the Environment Department can guide the MCC on civil works, construction and environmental issues, but not on public health. Handing over such a crucial responsibility to that officer is a direct risk to public health. This decision to abolish Health Officer posts appears to have been taken by some senior officials without the knowledge of the Chief Minister. We will discuss the issue with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and convince him to retain the Health Officer’s post.  —Ayub Khan, former Mayor

‘Absence of Health Officers won’t harm MCC’

The State Government has issued an order transferring Health Officers back to their parent department and assigning their responsibilities to the Executive Engineers of the Environment Division in City Corporations.

Earlier, Health Officers handled activities such as sterilisation surgeries for stray dogs and several other public health functions, while tasks like preparing budget estimates and calling tenders related to the health department were already being managed by Executive Engineers.

Now, all responsibilities of the health wing will be overseen entirely by the Executive Engineers. This change will bring greater efficiency in the functioning of the Health Department, and the absence of Health Officers will not cause any difficulty for the corporation.  —Shaikh Tanveer Asif, Commissioner, Mysuru City Corporation