Addressing the 14th convocation of the institute, Rajeswar gave the state government three months to come up with the set of regulations. “The approval to formulate the regulations of the institute was given in 2005. But the government is yet to do the job. Since the minister for medical education is not here, I request the chief secretary to take up the matter with the government and come to a decision within three months,” said Rajeswar. While the Governor is Visitor of SGPGI, Chief Secretary is its president. Later, Chief Secretary A K Gupta told The Indian Express: ‘We will start working on the regulations as the Governor has asked for it. His priorities will be honoured.”

Director Dr A K Mahapatra of SGPGI said draft rules and regulations had been pending with the state government since 2007. In the absence of proper guidelines, responsibilities and functions of the posts at the institute remain undefined. Also, there is no clarity about the procedures to be adopted for the functions at SGPGI. Officials either go by the practices adopted by the AIIMS in New Delhi or depend on their discretion. “Since there are no regulations, the director and other members of the administration allocates the powers of the individuals. This affects the working environment. But no one can challenge it since there are no set guidelines and regulations,” said a senior official.

Sneh Bhargava, former director of AIIMS, who was the chief guest at the convocation, said: “The difference between the health scenario of the best performing state, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh is huge. For instance, while the infant mortality rate in Kerala is around 17, it is close to 70 in UP. This certainly gives us some food for thought.”