New cashless treatment facility for govt staff soon: B S Yediyurappa

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday said that a new cashless treatment facility for government employees and their dependents will be rolled out soon, more than a year after he announced it in the budget.

“Action will be taken on the new cashless treatment facility for all government employees and dependents, which was announced in the last year’s budget,” Yediyurappa said at the inauguration of the centenary building of the Karnataka State Government Employees’ Association (KSGEA) at Cubbon Park here.

The new cashless treatment facility for surgical procedures will benefit 22.5 lakh employees and their dependents. For this, the government plans to modify the existing Jyothi Sanjivini scheme that currently provides cashless treatment for cardiac surgery, cancer, neuro surgery, urology, burns polytrauma cases, paediatric and neonatal surgeries. The government has estimated this to cost Rs 50 crore every year.

Yediyurappa also pointed out that the government had issued an order last week granting six months' child care leave for women employees along with maternity leave already in existence. “About four lakh women employees will benefit with this as they will get time to focus on their family, education and health of children,” Yediyurappa said.

The state government has already ordered that anonymous complaints against employees will not be entertained. “This will allow employees to work in a free, fearless atmosphere,” Yediyurappa said. He also told the KSGEA that the government was paying out Rs 15,000 towards the final rites of every deceased employee.

“For the annual sports event organized by the KSGEA, the government’s grant has been increased from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 2.5 crore this year,” the CM pointed out, adding that the government gave Rs 13 crore to the KSGEA for its centenary celebrations.

Yediyurappa said his government was supportive towards the welfare of all employees. “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has not been able to collect taxes and take up development in the last 1.5 years, making it a difficult situation,” he said. “In the coming days, I will try honestly to address all your problems.”