500-bed ESI hospital shrunk to 350-bed

Visakhapatnam: The sanctioned 500-bedded ESI Hospital proposed was scaled down to 350-bedded in Visakhapatnam. Responding to a query raised by Rajya Sabha member GVL Narasimha Rao, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Labour and Employment Rameswar Teli said the bed capacity was brought down due to the unavailability of the land to be provided by the state government.

According to the Union Minister, the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) had initially accorded in-principle approval for construction of 500-bedded hospital in Visakhapatnam, which was subsequently changed to 350-bedded hospital with additional 50-bedded super specialty wing due to non-availability of additional land for the staff quarters.

The sanctioned amount for the hospital is Rs 384.26 crore. The land for the project was mutated in the name of ESIC last October and the matter was taken up with the state government for the change in land use in order to award the work to the construction agency as well as scheduling the date of commencement/ completion of the project.

A 125-bedded ESIC Hospital at Malkapuram, Visakhapatnam is presently under repair and another 30-bedded hospital at Atchutapuram has been approved. Also, eight other ESI Hospitals have been sanctioned in Andhra Pradesh. Of them, land has not yet been allotted by the state government in Guntur, Nellore, Penukonda and Sri City, the Union Minister informed.

The MP blamed the state government for ignoring healthcare workers and not supplying sufficient land for the prestigious project.

"Gross negligence on the part of the State government in identifying suitable land for the ESI Hospitals has resulted in denial of healthcare benefits to organised workers in Visakhapatnam and other cities," stated GVL