Poor Scheme every year.Pune Municipal Corporation spends Rs 734 crore on citizens’ health, Rs 362 crore given under Urban Poor SchemePoor Scheme every year.
Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) spent Rs 733,71,19,005 on citizens’ health in the past six years under its Partial Medical Assistance Scheme and the Urban Poor Medical Assistance Scheme.
These schemes have proved a boon for the PMC’s current and former employees, former and sitting corporators and citizens. Health officers have expressed their resolve to implement these schemes more effectively.
The Partial Medical Assistance Scheme was launched in 1967 for the civic body’s current and former employees and sitting corporators. Under this scheme, the PMC bears 90 percent expenses for its employees and 100 pc for corporators on the lines of the Central Health Scheme. In 2005, former corporators were also included as beneficiaries under the scheme.
In 2011, former corporator Nilesh Nikam, who then served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee, announced the Urban Poor Scheme on the lines of the Partial Medical Assistance Scheme. Rs 1 lakh per year is given for treatment in private hospitals to a citizen, whose annual family income is Rs 1 lakh per annum.
Now, the annual family income limit has been raised to Rs 1.60 lakh. Under the scheme, Rs 2 lakh is given for treatment of chronic diseases such as kidney ailment, heart diseases and cancer treatment. Computerisation was introduced in the scheme from 2022 to curb irregularities. It has exposed forgeries.
The PMC spent over Rs 337. 71 crore on treatment of its employees from 2019-20 to 2024-25. As many as 26,761 current and former civic employees took benefit of the scheme. In all, 1,265 corporators availed themselves of the scheme and took medical treatment worth Rs 11,84,16,295 from 2019-20 to 2022-23. There have been no sitting corporators for the past two years as the General Body has been dissolved. The PMC spent Rs 21,86,52,845 on current and former corporators’ treatment from 2019-20 to 2024-25.
The PMC’s Health Department bore medical bills worth Rs 362,29,07,210 of citizens from 2019-20 to 2024-25. Around 15,000 citizens avail themselves of the Urban Poor Scheme every year.
PMC Assistant Health Officer Dr Sanjiv Wavare said, “Financial allotment is made in the civic budget every year for weaker sections under the Urban Poor Medical Assistance Scheme. If the assistance falls short, funds are demanded by transfer. The civic administration always strives to help the needy by removing shortcomings under the scheme. An online procedure is followed to save citizens from running errands. We are trying to implement both the schemes effectively.”
Expenditure under the Partial Medical Assistance and Urban Poor Schemes from 2019-20 to 2024-25
*Former and current PMC employees: Rs 337,71,42,690
*Sitting corporators: Rs 11,84,16,259
*Former corporators: Rs 21,86,52,845
*Urban Poor: Rs 362,29,07210
