No plans
to open hospitals under CGHS : Minister
NEW
DELHI, Feb 27: Minister of state for Health
Panabaka Lakshmi today denied that CGHS has
removed several big private hospitals from its
approved list, and said only those hospitals
which accepted CGHS rates and terms of agreement
have been empanelled.
"Empanelment
is a continuous process and any private hospital
located in CGHS cities can get empanelled with
CGHS," she said in reply to a question in
the Lok Sabha.
She also said that
there are no plans to open own hospitals under
the Scheme as yet.
Replying to
another query, she said on a pilot basis,
Hindlab, a subsidiary of Hindustan Latex Limited
has set up a dagonistic laboratory in partnership
with CGHS in South Delhi. "The laboratory is
expected to be self sustaining," she said.
On mental
hospitals, the Minister said there are about 40
government Mental hospitals in the country,
maximum of six in West Bengal, four each in
Maharashtra and Gujarat, three each in Kerala and
Uttar Pradesh, and two each in Andhra Pradesh,
Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh.
Assam, Delhi, Goa,
Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Orissa,
Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu have one such
hospital each. There are about 2219 psychiatrists
in the country, she said. (UNI)
RS
passes Bill to enhance maternity benefits
NEW
DELHI, Feb 27: Women working in factories, shops
and plantation will get enhanced maternity
benefits once Parliament passes amendments in the
law.
The Maternity
Benefit (Amendment) Bill 2007, was passed by the
Rajya Sabha today virtually without any debate as
the House plunged into pandemonium created by
opposition on the farmers’ plight.
Under the new law,
the medical bonus paid to women under the
maternity benefits would be increased to Rs 1,000
from Rs 250.
The Bill also
gives powers to the Centre to enhance this
benefit further subject to a maximum of Rs
20,000.
Though many
members especially Jaya Bachchan (SP) and Brinda
Karat (CPI-M) wanted to participate in the
discussion, the Bill was passed in the din
through voice vote.
The Maternity
Benefit Act 1961 regulates the employment of
women in factories, circus industry, plantation
and shops or establishments employing ten or more
persons excepting those covered under the
Employees State Insurance (ESI).
The Act defines
the quantum of maternity and other benefits
before and after child birth.
While the
amendment revises the bonus amount, the
compensation equivalent to average daily wage for
12 weeks remains unchanged. (PTI)
BJP
terms Lalu’s budget "cosmetic and
gimmick"
BANGALORE,Feb
27: Senior
BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu today hit out at the
Railway budget terming it as "cosmetic and
gimmick", lacking focus on upgradation of
infrastructure.
"Lalu has
invented new methods to raise Railways income
without enhancing track strength but allowing
additional load, converting tatkal scheme into a
sarvakal (all season)", he said at a press
conference here while reacting to the 2008-09
budget proposals presented in the Lok Sabha
yesterday.
The budget has no
proposal to enhance railway connectivity, failed
to strike regional balance and stepmotherly
treatment has been given to BJP and NDA allies
ruled states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Gujarat, he said. Even Karnataka has been
accorded stepmotherly treatment, he said.
Adequate funds
have not been earmarked for rail line doubling,
electrification and gauge conversion projects, he
alleged and wanted Lalu to publish a white paper
detailing the promises he gave in the last four
years and action taken on it.
Lalu has not given
emphasis on railway safety measures, he said.
There is no
mention on ‘circular Rail project’ for
Bangalore to ease traffic congestion, Naidu said.
"It is only a budget to attract people and
not for the welfare of people, Naidu said.
Earlier Karnataka
unit BJP president D V Sadananda Gowda said his
party MPs from the state will stage dharna in
front of parliament tomorrow to protest the
"injustice" meted out to the state in
the Railway budget.
A delegatin of MPs
will also be calling on the Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh to draw his attention on the issue
and also Lalu, he said. (PTI)
Cong
charges Akali Dal with using
SGPC for its own
interests
CHANDIGARH,
Feb 27:
Opposition Congress today hit out at the
ruling Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab, alleging it
was using the SGPC for its own political
interests.
"The charges
of the Akali Dal that Congress is meddling in the
affairs of Sikhs is baseless. In fact, it has
become a habit with them to say so as they want
to cover up their own deeds," state unit
president Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said here.
She alleged the
SAD was "fully using" the SGPC, the
apex religious body of the Sikhs, for political
gains.
"Even for
their rally in Delhi yesterday, SAD misused the
SGPC," Bhattal, the Leader of Opposition in
the Assembly, said.
She alleged that
Rs four crore of public money had been wasted by
the SAD to make its rally a success.
"At the end
of the day, they had only to give a memorandum to
the Prime Minister. They could have given it in
the manner we did a day before, but spending so
much money besides misusing official machinery
and putting people to inconvenience by forcing
buses off the state roads, could have been
avoided," she said.
Addressing
SAD-BJP’s ‘Insaaf Rally’ in the
capital, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had
warned the Congress against "meddling"
in Sikh affairs.
A joint memorandum
to the Prime Minister carried charter of demands
including a Rs 36,000 crore package for remission
of farm loans and augmentation of irrigation, tax
holiday for industry and an immediate halt to
Haryana Government move to set up a separate SGPC
in the state.
With regard to
Haryana’s move, Bhattal said, "Why is
Badal feeling nervous ... If Sikhs of Haryana
want it, Badal cannot thrust his will. What did
he do when separate committee was formed in Delhi
(DSGMC)," she said.
Responding to SAD
allegations of the Congress ignoring Punjab
farmers, Bhattal said, "it seems that the
Akalis have forgotten that maximum hike in
Minimum Support Price was effected by the present
UPA regime, whose major beneficiaries were our
farmers. The Centre also gave Rs 100 crore to the
agricultural university in the state".
She also
castigated the ruling alliance for levelling
allegations that Congress had ruined
Punjab’s industry.
"Now, they
are demanding tax holidays for the state. What
were the Akalis doing when NDA was in power and
it was their Government which gave tax holidays
to neighbouring states like Himachal
Pradesh," she said.
On Monday, Bhattal
had led a group of farmers from Punjab to Delhi
to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and
Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
The Congress
delegation had submitted a memorandum to Singh
and Sonia Gandhi asking for, among other things,
a debt relief package for small and marginal
farmers with land holding of up to five acres.
(PTI)
No
specific terror threat to courts, says Govt
NEW
DELHI, Feb 27: The Government today said
there had been no specific information about
terror threats to courts in the country or of
terrorists posing as advocates to trigger blasts
in court premises.
"There are no
present inputs regarding any specific threat of
terrorists to target courts in the country and
about terrorists posing as advocates to trigger
blasts in court premises," Minister of State
for Home Shriprakash Jaiswal said.
In a written reply
in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Jaiswal, however, informed
that guidelines had been framed and communicated
to all State Governments and the Union
Territories for the security of high courts and
district and subordinate courts, asking the
authorities to "urgently review" the
security arrangements there.
The minister said
a continuous and close watch was being maintained
by various security agencies about possible
threats of terrorist activities. Any input
received in this regard was also shared with the
State Governments on a regular basis, he added.
Replying to
another query, he said terrorist incidents in
Jammu and Kashmir had registered a decline during
the last two years.
In 2006, Jammu and
Kashmir witnessed 1667 terror incidents, which
came down to 1092 a year later.
About the measures
being taken to make the security environment
progressively safer for tourists visiting the
state, he said a separate tourist police and
enforcement wing had ben put in place at
Srinagar, Jammu and other tourist places. The
tourist police are empowered to take cognizance
of cheating and harassment cases. (UNI)
|
