Gandhinagar: Gujarat will bring all 31 districts under the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) scheme from October 1, extending social security coverage to an estimated 8 to 10 lakh additional workers and their families, Labour and Employment Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya said on Tuesday.
The expansion follows a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment on September 25 under the Social Security Code, 2020.
The 31 districts include 15 where the ESIC scheme is not yet implemented and 16 where it operates only in specified areas.
Bavaliya said the expansion would take the number of ESIC-registered workers in Gujarat from around 21.68 lakh to nearly 32 lakh.
Including family members, the total number of beneficiaries receiving healthcare and social security benefits is expected to reach around 1.20 crore, up from the current 84 lakh.
The 15 districts where the scheme will be fully implemented are Amreli, Aravalli, Banaskantha, Botad, Chhota Udepur, Dahod, Dang, Devbhumi Dwarka, Gir Somnath, Kutch, Mahisagar, Narmada, Patan, Tapi and Vav-Tharad.
The 16 districts where designated areas are currently covered are Ahmedabad, Anand, Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Kheda, Mehsana, Morbi, Navsari, Panchmahal, Porbandar, Rajkot, Sabarkantha, Surat and Surendranagar.
Under the scheme, eligible workers will be entitled to cashless medical treatment, cash assistance during illness, maternity benefits and disability assistance. The state currently has 103 ESIS dispensaries and 11 ESIC/ESIS hospitals.
Another 234 community health centres and primary health centres have been empanelled to provide primary healthcare to workers. Bavaliya said construction of a 350-bed ESIC hospital in Sanand and a 150-bed hospital in Kalol-Gandhinagar is underway.
The process of allocating land for 100-bed hospitals at Halol in Panchmahal and Savli in Vadodara has reached its final stage.
The state government will also recommend establishing new ESIC hospitals in Mehsana, Gandhidham and Morbi to the Center. An ESIC Medical College is already operational in Ahmedabad, while the process for a new medical college in Surat is under way.
“Over the past two months, 68 hospitals, including 13 government and 55 private hospitals, have been added to the ESIC panel,” the minister said.
Eligible workers will also be able to access cashless treatment through 900 private and 1,127 government hospitals covered under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
A new ESIC Sub-Regional Office (SRO) has also been approved in Rajkot to cater to workers in Saurashtra and surrounding areas.
The office will handle administrative matters, contribution-related work, and claims for 12 Saurashtra districts.
“The decision had been taken under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leadership of Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel,” he noted.
(IANS)
