The Telangana cabinet approved the formation of the Directorate of Nursing on June 6, raising long-pending hopes among nursing employees. However, they say the government has released no update even after five months. Major unions argue that senior officials continue to ignore the implementation process. The proposal aims to unite nursing staff who now work separately under DME, DH and TVVP, yet nurses claim that one senior official’s behaviour is slowing the entire decision.
Nursing unions point out that governments promised this directorate several times in the undivided state and again after Telangana’s formation. Former Health Minister Laxma Reddy also assured the Assembly that the government would create it. Moreover, current Health Minister Damodar Raja Narsimha secured cabinet approval for the plan. Even so, union leaders say official negligence has stalled the file. They now demand firm action and immediate execution of the directorate.
The government earlier announced that it would soon release guidelines on structure, staffing and operations. Yet unions report that repeated visits to the Secretariat and various health offices brought no response. Consequently, they want the minister to intervene and act against the officer responsible for the delay. They describe the inaction as disrespect to the cabinet’s decision.
Unions further argue that the directorate could finally address long-standing issues such as promotions, vacancies, transfers, deputations and service disputes. Today, more than 20,000 nursing employees work across multiple departments, and unions also allege corruption and file blocking under the current administration. Therefore, they believe the directorate would improve transparency and speed up solutions.
