After MLAs, officers cold to health plan

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 6

After MLAs and ministers “rejected” the Punjab Government Employees and Pensioners’ Health Insurance Scheme, now the IAS officers have refused to opt it.

The state government notified the scheme in October last year and made it compulsory for all government employees to get enrolled. The scheme covers indoor treatment expenses of government employees, pensioners and their dependents.

However, the scheme was made optional for incumbent and former MLAs, serving and retired IAS officers, judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Most of the top political leaders and IAS officers refused to opt for the scheme. Most of the MLAs did not enrol themselves in the scheme. They instead asked the Health Department to contact big corporate hospitals in Delhi and Mumbai to get them empanelled under the scheme.

The recent record of the Health Department reveals that the situation is not much different when it comes to IAS officers. There are around 250 IAS officers in the state, but only 25 of them have opted for the scheme. It means not more than 10 per cent officers got themselves enrolled. Even the scheme failed to find takers among the retired IAS officers of the state. The government employees for whom this scheme is compulsory feel that it should be made compulsory for IAS officers and MLAs too. “They are those who made the policy for all employees and pensioners, but why they themselves don’t want to get enrolled. It makes clear that the scheme is not in employees’ interest,” said Dr Gagandeep Singh, president, Punjab Civil Medical Services Association.

The government had launched the scheme with pomp and show. According to sources, so far more than 4 lakh employees and pensioners have enrolled themselves.