Nagpur: For cash-strapped Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), ‘good health’ of city fathers seems paramount. An RTI query has revealed that the civic body footed a bill of Rs 23 lakh for medical treatment of just eight Corporators that too in past seven months. NMC has earmarked a sum of Rs 30 lakh for looking after health problems of 150 city fathers.
In reply to an RTI poser, the Public Health Department of NMC has informed the RTI activist Abhay Kolarkar that 27 types of illnesses are covered for which Corporators can seek reimbursement of expenses incurred by them on medical treatment. Besides this, five types of illnesses related to brain too are the ‘responsibility’ of the civic body which grants medical advance the affected city fathers.
The RTI activist Abhay Kolarkar had sought information from NMC regarding medical expenses incurred on Corporators from year 2012-13 onwards. In the first year about nine Corporators were refunded Rs. 1.91 lakh but from next year onwards there has been steady increase in the outflow. In year 2013-14 about eight Corporators were provided assistance of Rs. 2.43 lakh. However in next year, 2014-15, though nine corporators sought refund the amount decreased to Rs. 1.77 lakh but jumped to Rs. 8.72 lakh in year 2015-16 in which the number of Corporators diagnosed with health related problems was all time high at 16. The next year in 2016-17 about 13 corporators were refunded an amount of Rs. 26,41,522, this is the maximum refund given by NMC to corporators since 2012-13 financial year onwards, reveals the RTI information furnished to Kolarkar.
In the current fiscal, NMC has already spent Rs 23 lakh out of the earmarked sum of Rs 30 lakh. Now the million dollar question is from where money would be drawn by NMC in case there are more claims by the remaining Corporators on health ground.
