Plan to establish ESI hospitals in all districts: Union Minister

Hyderabad: If the Centre has its way then all the 725 districts in the country will each have ESI Hospitals. Union Minister of State for Labour & Employment Santosh Kumar Gangwar stated that the NDA government was planning to establish ESI hospital in all districts. At present there are 450 ESI hospitals across the country, he said.

He was speaking after laying the foundation stone for a new OPD building at ESI Medical College and Hospital in Sanathnagar here. The new multi-storied Out Patient Department Block, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 124 crore, will provide medical services in various departments including ENT, Ophthalmology, General Medicine, Dermatology etc.

Gangwar assured all kinds of support for strengthening the ESI Hospital network in Telangana and sought cooperation from the State government to speed up the processes required. He further said the government has initiated several measures to provide monthly pension to the workers in unorganised sector.

He said the Centre was committed to the welfare of the labour force in the country and has introduced two bills in the Lok Sabha, related to wage and occupational safety of workers.

The Union Minister said steps would be taken to ensure that there was no dearth of doctors or para-medical staff in ESI hospitals. The government has reduced the contribution under the Employees' State Insurance (ESI) Act to four per cent from 6.5 per cent. This move, Gangwar said, is expected to increase the 'Take Home' salary of workers as well as reduce the financial burden of employers.

Gangwar said the Centre was committed to ensure wage, jobs and social security for all workers including those in the unorganised sector. Around 40 crore workers from unorganised sector are covered under Insurance and Provident Fund schemes, the Minister said. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, State Labour Minister Ch Malla Reddy and other senior officials attended the programme.