Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 23: Regional Director, Employees’ State Insurance Corp. (ESIC), J&K, Arvind Kumar has claimed that nearly 1.10 lakh workers and employees of about 3500 factories, companies and other establishments and institutions are ensured as beneficiaries of the scheme in the J&K State.
Taking review of the benefits made available to the insured employees and beneficiaries of Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme, the Regional Director stated that at present over 3500 factories, companies, establishments and institutions are under the coverage whose 1.10 lakh plus insured employees are beneficiaries under the ESI Scheme along with their dependent family members. He disclosed that ESIC has been providing comprehensive Medical treatment to the beneficiaries of ESI Scheme, besides compensation for salary losses due to sickness, accidents, etc as well as pensionary benefits to the dependants of the employee who meet with fatal employment accident during the course of employment and unemployment allowances for one year for subsistence to the those employees who put in 3 years regular service under the ESI covered employer but are rendered jobless due to closure of their factories or establishments.
These benefits under the ESI Scheme are available in notified areas in Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Katra, Udhampur and Srinagar. For providing the Medical benefits to the beneficiaries under the ESI Scheme, there are 9 ESI Dispensaries, one ESI Model Hospital, 4 ESI panel doctors and over 20 tie-up hospitals to cover their needs. Ramzan Hospital, Srinagar, Chopra Nursing Home, Udhampur and KD’s Eye Hospitals, Jammu and Srinagar were added for the treatments of the insured beneficiaries in 2014.
Mr Arvind informed that over 2.88 lakh OPD visits have been made by the beneficiaries for availing of medical treatments in 2014 from 9 ESI Dispensaries and 1 ESI Hospital in the State and over 3100 of them availed of secondary care treatment after hospitalization in ESI Hospital, Bari Brahmana, Jammu. For other secondary care and super speciality treatments, over 16000 beneficiaries were facilitated treatments and investigations in private tie-up hospitals within the State as well as outside. He stated that Rs.8.44 crores were spent on speciality and super-speciality medical treatments made available to the beneficiaries in J&K in reputed hospitals.
Apart from the Medical treatments under the ESI Scheme, Rs. 2.61 Crores worth cash compensation was given to the over 10000 insured employees and beneficiaries during 2014. 21 more areas in Jammu, Samba and Kathua have been brought under the coverage of ESI Scheme from December Ist, 2014 which would benefit another 3000 employees working in these areas.
ESIC has also conducted pre-implementation surveys at Rajouri, Poonch, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Salal/Reasi, Gulmarg and Pehalgam as per decision of the ESIC Regional Board (J&K) the feasibility and requirements for implementation of ESI Scheme in these areas is under examination.
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