Urban BPL families yet to enjoy RSBY
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, September 11 2012:
Even though some candidates of the ensuing Panchayat election have been attempting to hoodwink voters by promising benefits of the Rashtriya Swastiya Bima Yojana (RSBY), the scheme is not yet accessible to majority of the urban BPL families of the State.
The scheme has not been implemented in district hospitals citing inadequate infrastructure.
An official of Labour Department said that authorities are unable to provide benefits of RSBY to BPL families living in areas as the municipal authorities could not establish the exact figure of BPL families.
The scheme which was launched in Imphal East district on trial basis has now been extended to Thoubal and Bishnupur districts too.
Though the scheme has benefited some BPL families living in rural areas, it has done nothing good so far for BPL families living in urban areas.
Rural beneficiaries of the scheme are based on the BPL list furnished by District Rural Development Agencies in 2006 .
On verification by Labour Department, many beneficiaries were found expired while some others had their homes shifted.
The department has empanelled many private hospitals for the scheme and they are extending benefits of RSBY to BPL families but district hospitals under the State Government have not been empanelled in view of their inadequate infrastructure, said the official.
The department has been working to bring Imphal West, Ukhrul and Tameng-long districts under same scheme.
The matter would be tabled in a Cabinet meeting for a concrete decision very soon.
Even though there were some difficulties for card vendors to go around and take photographs of BPL families, the department has taken up certain measures to implement this exercise more efficiently, the official added.