ESIC’s regional hospital without regular director

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, December 15

The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation’s (ESIC) Baddi-based regional office is being neglected, with no regular director having been posted here since the earlier incumbent retired on April 30.

It is learnt that its charge was earlier handed over to the Regional Director of Punjab in May. Ever since that official too attained superannuation on October 31, the post has been lying vacant. Now, as a stopgap arrangement, a Joint Director has been assigned its additional charge along with that for Punjab.

Absence of a regular director has been affecting its smooth functioning as no full-time official is available to manage its day-to-day affairs, following which, its problems failed to be addressed effectively.

Since the ESIC is the lone public-sector enterprise providing benefits of various medical schemes to workers belonging to various private establishments, its management on an ad-hoc basis does not augur well for welfare of this marginalised section.

The ESIC is catering to more than 2 lakh labourers employed in various private enterprises including industries of Solan, Parwanoo, Kala Amb, Paonta Sahib and the state’s industrial hub of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh. Officials are surveying areas such as Kasauli to bring more workers in its fold and the absence of a regular director at this stage has failed to give impetus to such endeavours, an official confided.

The ESIC has also brought educational institutes like private universities under its fold recently. The measure is aimed at making available benefits of its various medical schemes to more people.

The corporation is running a hospital at Parwanoo, Baddi and several dispensaries in BBN and other parts of Solan and Sirmaur districts.

With the corporation refusing to run the Rs 750-crore medical college constructed by it at Mandi and the state government having failed to take over its charge, the corporation’s approach towards the state is that of neglect. The college was inaugurated in March this year.