Lucknow: The Yogi Government has taken an important step towards providing better healthcare facilities to ex-servicemen and their dependents. Under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), the Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has approved the proposal to transfer, free of cost, land belonging to Gram Panchayats and local authorities in 13 districts of the state to the Local Military Authority (LMA), Central Command, Government of India, for the establishment/construction of ECHS Polyclinics.
This decision will facilitate the construction of the proposed polyclinics and enable ex-servicemen to access better medical facilities closer to their homes.
There are around 18 lakh ex-servicemen in Uttar Pradesh. Through ECHS, they will be able to access better medical benefits more promptly. The scheme seeks to provide cashless treatment to beneficiaries. The establishment of new polyclinics in the state will therefore expand the scope of healthcare facilities available to ex-servicemen and their families.
Land has been identified as necessary for the establishment/construction of ECHS Polyclinics in 13 districts of the state. These districts include Etawah, Jalaun, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bijnor, Bulandshahr, Muzaffarnagar, Banda, Ghazipur, Mirzapur, Deoria, Sultanpur, Azamgarh and Gonda. Under the proposal, available land belonging to Gram Panchayats or local authorities in these districts will be transferred free of cost for the construction of the polyclinics.
The Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme is a flagship scheme of the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare. It was launched on April 1, 2003. Its objective is to provide ex-servicemen pensioners and their dependents with access to quality treatment free of cost through a network of ECHS Polyclinics, Armed Forces medical facilities, government hospitals and empanelled private hospitals.
The arrangement for making land available at the local level for the construction of polyclinics will help advance these projects. Under the proposal, land belonging to Gram Panchayats and local authorities will be transferred free of cost to the Local Military Authority (LMA), Central Command, Government of India. This will pave the way for expanding the ECHS healthcare infrastructure in the identified districts.
