217 workers of Muft Ilaj Yojna axed

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Sirsa, June 30

The axe has fallen on 217 employees working in the health department on contract under the Mukhyamantri Muft Ilaj Yojna.

The officials, who include pharmacists, laboratory technicians and data entry operators, were relieved from their duties in the afternoon today. The employees were working in the department since December 2013.

Nine contractual employees – Amit Kumar, Manish Kumar and Ranjeet Kumar, pharmacists, Rohit Kumar and Satpal, Laboratory technicians, Munish Kumar, a helper and Chetna, Bharti and Mandeep, all Data Entry Operators lost their jobs in Sirsa.

Civil Surgeon Dr Surender Nain said the government had given three months extension to the employees on March 31, 2015, but they were relieved today. Fatehabad Civil Surgeon Dr Suraj Bhan Kamboj said four pharmacists, three Data Entry Operators and two laboratory technicians have been relieved from duties from today.

Mukhyamantri Muft Ilaj Yojna was launched in Haryana on January 1, 2014 to provide essential health care services free of cost in its all health institutions from primary to tertiary level at an estimated cost of Rs 261.1 crore.

The scheme covered surgery, drugs, investigations or diagnostic services, ambulance or referral transport services, indoor services and dental treatment. Confusion prevails over the fate of the scheme after the removal of the employees.

Both Dr Nain and Dr Kamboj said that the scheme has not been discontinued.