Why Maharashtra’s doctors have been protesting for weeks

But it was only the latest in a series of disputes that have kept Maharashtra’s healthcare sector on edge.

It began with attacks on healthcare workers

The first major flashpoint came in July, when doctors and nurses at KDMC’s Shastrinagar Hospital in Dombivli were allegedly assaulted by Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre and his supporters after a pregnant patient was referred to another hospital because the NICU was full.

The incident triggered statewide protests by resident doctors, nurses, and the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which suspended routine OPD services for 24 hours and demanded stricter implementation of the Maharashtra law protecting healthcare workers from violence.

The agitation ended after the Bombay High Court took suo motu cognisance of the case, stayed the bail granted to Mhatre, directed him to surrender and appealed to doctors to call off the strike. Medical organisations, however, say weak enforcement of the law and inadequate hospital security continue to leave healthcare workers vulnerable.

Then came the nurses’ agitation

Even as concerns over violence against healthcare workers persisted, government nurses launched a two-hour work boycott on August 4 over a different issue altogether — chronic staff shortages.

Led by the Maharashtra Government Nurses Federation, the protest sought the implementation of the Indian Nursing Council’s prescribed nurse-to-patient ratio, the filling of vacant posts, and changes to the state’s transfer policy.

Although the Maharashtra government promised phased implementation of the staffing norms through a Government Resolution issued in June 2025, nursing organisations say hospitals continue to function with large vacancies, forcing existing staff to shoulder excessive workloads and affecting patient care.

Now, the bridge-course row has triggered fresh protests

The latest confrontation centres on the Maharashtra government’s decision to operationalise a provision of the Maharashtra Homoeopathic Practitioners and Maharashtra Medical Council (Amendment) Act, 2014.

The law allows registered BHMS practitioners who complete the Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP), a one-year programme conducted by the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, to prescribe specified allopathic medicines and practise modern scientific medicine within the scope of that training. It also provides for maintaining a separate register for such practitioners under the Maharashtra Medical Council.

Although the law has existed for more than a decade, implementation remained stalled until the Medical Education Department asked the MMC in April 2025 to begin the registration process. The issue resurfaced this month after the government constituted an expert committee to define the competencies, ethical guidelines and standard operating procedures before registrations proceed.

Why has it become so contentious?

The IMA, the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) and other allopathic medical bodies say they are not opposed to the bridge course itself but to CCMP-qualified practitioners being registered under the Maharashtra Medical Council.

They argue that registration under the same statutory regulator could blur the distinction between MBBS doctors and bridge course-qualified practitioners, creating confusion among patients about qualifications and scope of practice. They also contend that a one-year bridge course cannot be equated with the five-and-a-half years of MBBS training. The IMA has challenged the registration process before the Bombay High Court, which has said any registrations granted will remain subject to the outcome of the petitions.

AYUSH organisations, meanwhile, argue they are only seeking implementation of a law passed in 2014. They say thousands of BHMS practitioners completed the government-approved course years ago and have been waiting for registration ever since. The government maintains it is not immediately opening registrations and that the newly constituted expert committee will first recommend the competencies, scope of practice, ethical guidelines and regulatory safeguards governing CCMP-qualified practitioners.