Over the past decade, the Chhattisgarh Department of Health and Family Welfare has launched numerous health schemes—many in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare—and established several specialised wings across all districts. However, the irony remains that State has not had a technical director for the last 17 years to oversee these crucial initiatives. Since the conclusion of Dr Pramod Singh’s tenure as technical director in 2008, the department has not taken any step to appoint a successor, leaving the post vacant and key technical matters unmanaged. As a result, senior officials say, the overall monitoring and coordination of State’s health programmes have weakened. After Chhattisgarh was formed as a separate State in November 2000, the post of technical director was created in 2001 to oversee statewide health services, schemes, and programmes in the public sector. Between 2001 and 2008, around five senior specialist doctors each with postgraduate qualifications and over 20 years of medical experience served successfully in this role. During those formative years, when the newly-formed state received limited funds compared to larger states such as Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and the undivided Andhra Pradesh, these technical directors efficiently managed to run public healthcare services with available resources. A senior executive doctor in the department said that earlier, the technical director, being a highly qualified and experienced physician, maintained close supervision over health policies and ensured regular monitoring with all state nodal officers. “In the absence of a technical director, proper oversight of health schemes is lacking, and several nodal sections fail to update their records regularly,” he remarked. Dr A K Dani, retired deputy director in the department, also emphasized that the technical director played a vital role in strengthening the state’s healthcare system. “Unfortunately, the post has been left vacant for 17 years, and the department seems to have ended it unofficially,” he said. Health Secretary Amit Kataria did not respond when tried to contact.