news details |
|
|
| Who allotted contract of health insurance scheme? | | Many officials of Finance Deptt under scanner | | Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Oct 25: As Governor Satya Pal Malik has scrapped the insurance scheme deal, role of many senior officials in the Finance department is being questioned for allotting the contract to a particular company.
The Governor scrapped the deal after the opposition criticised the decision of making it mandatory for all state government employees to buy medical insurance from the private company.
The government in an order on September 20 had selected the company for providing medical insurance to all state government employees. Even though the policy has been scrapped, many senior officials are under the scanner for allotting the contract to the company.
"The allotment of the contract was questioned from the day first. Now it is various senior officials who have to answer whether the contract was allotted as per the rules," an official of General Administration Department told Early Times.
The official said that it has also put the government in a tight spot as the employees who deposited their first premium of the scheme can seek the insurance cover for any health issue.
"What will government do under present circumstances? The contract has been cancelled. Who will give insurance cover? Government or the company? The government has to respond," the official said.
He said that process for allotment of contract began during the PDP-BJP government in the state. "But the responsibility seems to lie with officials of Finance department as they are part of the government," the official said.
The scheme has been made mandatory for government employees including those working in the PSUs, autonomous bodies and universities, while it will be optional for pensioners and other categories of employees and accredited journalists.
There are five lakh employees in the state. The main purpose and the object of the scheme was to provide and cater to the health needs of the employees. The scheme has also been challenged in the High Court on the grounds that its contract has been given to a particular corporate company.
"The said policy is introduced out of malice and of nepotism without bothering the welfare of the petitioner. Therefore the impugned policy smells discretionary approach on part of respondents as such deserves to be quashed," the petitioner has said.
The e-tendering is mandatory to give it vide publicity through online. However, the petitioner has claimed that it was not adopted in the instant case.
However, the company in a statement has said: "We have won the employee health insurance policy as part of the 'J&K Chief Minister's Group Mediclaim Policy' after a rigorous transparent competitive tender process involving technical and financial evaluation of multiple bidders, carried out strictly in compliance with the laid down guidelines of the state government." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
