Action against those delaying health cards

November 16, 2011 11:17 am | Updated 11:17 am IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:

United Democratic Front councillors staging a dharna infront of the Corporation office in Thiruvananthpuram on Tuesday alleging thatno development activities had taken place in the Corporation in the past year.

United Democratic Front councillors staging a dharna infront of the Corporation office in Thiruvananthpuram on Tuesday alleging thatno development activities had taken place in the Corporation in the past year.

The city Corporation will request to the State government and the Labour Department to initiate action against those responsible for delay in issuing insurance cards to the beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CHIS).

The insurance company concerned too will be asked to identify those causing delay, a meeting of the Corporation council resolved here on Tuesday. This was on the basis of an adjournment motion moved by Palayam Rajan, chairman of the welfare standing committee.

Many people, especially those from poor families, were unable to use the insurance cards to pay their hospital bills because the cards had not been issued on time and hence could not be renewed on time, Mr. Rajan told the council that subsequently adopted the resolution.

Another adjournment motion moved by V.S. Padmakumar, chairman of the works standing committee, called on the council to ask the government for Rs.3 crore to fund the replacement of public lighting equipment in the coastal areas. The city Corporation had installed more than 10,000 street lights in 18 coastal wards of the city from Kazhakkuttom to Vizhinjam. As the air in these areas was salt-laden, the electrical equipment had rusted. The council adopted the resolution later. Councillors from areas recently added to the Corporation alleged that their wards were being sidelined while various schemes were being prepared.

The Council condoled the deaths of minister T.M. Jacob and Congress leader M.P. Gangadharan.

Moments after the meeting began, councillors of the United Democratic Front (UDF) staged a walkout and held a dharna in front of the Corporation office alleging that no development activities had taken place in the Corporation during the past one year.

A press note issued by the Leader of the Opposition in the council Johnson Joseph charged that the Corporation was diverting elsewhere huge amounts of money sanctioned by the Central government for various schemes. Whenever the Corporation was asked about the lack of developmental activities in the five panchayats added to the city, the local body turned round and put the blame on the State government.

The State government had already decided to give Rs.42 lakh each to all Corporation wards for repair and maintenance work. Here too, the Corporation was seeking to play politics, he alleged.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.