Telangana To Get Hospitals, Social Security Sops

Union Labour & Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said that the Ministry had proposed to set up three 100-bed hospitals in Ramagundam, Warangal, and Goshamahal (Hyderabad), if the Telangana government allocated lands for the same.

Addressing a press conference after the review meeting with Telangana Labour Minister Nayini Narasimha Reddy and other officials of the Central Labour Ministry officials on Saturday, Dattatreya said that the ESIC dispensaries at Tandur, Daulatabad, Khammam, Suryapet, Maheswaram, Siddipet, and Kalwakurthy would be upgraded to 6-bedded hospitals.

Rs. 10 crores would be provided for each hospital for their construction and infrastructure, the Union Minister said, and requested Reddy to provide land for the construction of hospitals at the earliest. All the beedi workers' hospitals located in the State would be merged with the ESIC Hospitals, and the first upgraded hospital would be constructed at Nirmal.

Dattatreya said that housing subsidy for the tobacco workers would be increased from Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 1.5 lakhs. The Ministry was planning to construct 10,000 houses for tobacco farmers and labourers in the State, Dattatreya claimed. The Centre was also planning to provide Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and ESI facilities to the workers.

Under the Social Security Scheme, 18 lakh contract labourers would be covered under the services of ESIC, he promised. The Union Minister also said that the Centre was planning to provide social security including ESI and EPF to construction workers as well.

Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Labour, Heeralal Samaria, and several top ESIC officials also attended the conference.