Amended Dental Service Bill passed in West Bengal Assembly

In order to hasten recruitment of dental professionals in West Bengal, the state Assembly today passed an amended state Dental Service Bill.
The West Bengal State Dental Service (Amendment) Bill, which was passed today, would make direct recruitment to the posts in the cadre of the West Bengal dental service and West Bengal dental education service through the state health recruitment board in place of the State Public Service Commission.
Parliamentary secretary for health and family welfare Nirmal Maji said that earlier it had taken more than four years to make recruitment in the dental service.
Opposition members Tarun Kanti Naskar and Gouranga Chatterjee among others opposed the amendment, arguing that it would lack transparency.

They said the amended act was politically motivated.
Maji said that there were now 250 seats in government dental colleges of Kolkata, north Bengal and Burdwan while two private colleges have another 200 seats.
E-library, AC classrooms, 40 new modern dental chairs, another 150 proposed to be installed shortly and 78 per cent discount in medicine are among a few changes brought in by this government.
Health minister Chandrima Bhattacharya favouring the amended act said his government had increased the medical seats from 1,350 to some 2,950.