Row Erupts As Maharashtra Medical Council Allows Homeopaths With CCMP To Practise Allopathy

Mumbai: A fresh controversy has erupted in Maharashtra’s medical community after the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) announced that homeopathy doctors who have completed the Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) will now be officially registered to practise modern (allopathic) medicine a move strongly opposed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Maharashtra, which has threatened protests and a public awareness campaign on social media, including short films, to highlight their concerns.

RTI activist Anil Galgali is believed to have played a key role in clearing the long-pending demand of homeopathy doctors. He pursued the matter with the state government, the Medical Council, and the Health Department through RTI applications and formal correspondence. The decision paves the way for CCMP-certified homeopaths to legally prescribe allopathic medicines under specific conditions.

According to Galgali, the CCMP course introduced in 2016 by the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), Nashik is conducted at 33 government medical colleges. Over 15,000 homeopathy doctors have already completed the training. While registration of these doctors was mandated under the amended law, implementation had been delayed for years, resulting in a significant loss of government revenue. Once certified, doctors are legally permitted to prescribe allopathic medicines under defined circumstances.

However, the MMC’s decision has triggered strong opposition from the community of qualified allopathic doctors (MBBS and above) registered with the council.

Dr Anil Pachnekar, National Vice President of IMA HQ Delhi and former president of IMA Maharashtra, said the MMC is a statutory body exclusively meant to regulate modern medicine practitioners, while homeopathy doctors have a separate regulatory authority — the Maharashtra Council of Homeopathy. He added that the six-month CCMP cannot be equated with the rigorous MBBS degree, which requires years of academic study and clinical training. Doctors fear that such lateral entry undermines the MMC’s credibility, poses risks to patient safety, and erodes public trust.

While the government maintains that the move will regularise thousands of practitioners and strengthen healthcare delivery, allopathic doctors have demanded an immediate rollback of the decision. Failing this, they warn of statewide protests to protect the integrity of the profession.

“We will create awareness among the public about this decision through social media, including short films,” Dr Pachnekar said, adding that they have written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, urging him to urgently intervene and withdraw what they call an “unjust and hazardous” move. They have also demanded that homeopathy practitioners continue to remain under their own council and not be permitted registration under the MMC.