Corpus fund for medical treatment of ex-MLAs, ex-MLCs in UP

Lucknow May 16 (UNI) Conceding to the long-pending demand of the former members of the both the houses of the Uttar Pradesh Legislature, the State Assembly and the Legislative Council, the Mayawati government has decided to set up the corpus fund soon for the medical care of the former legislators.

The corpus fund for the medical treatment will benefit as many as 3,000 former MLAs and 183 former members of the state Legislative council. Many former members of the state assembly had died in the past as they could not afford the costly medical treatment in super specialty hospital like the PGI or the Cancer Hospital in Mumbai.

According to official sources here today state government will provide Rs 40 Lakh for the corpus fund for the former members of the Assembly and Rs 10 Lakh for the former members of the Legislative Czouncil.

''The money of the corpus fund will be deposited with the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical science, Lucknow (SGPGI).

The cost of the medical treatment for each former Legislator will be recouped by the state government to the PGI,'' sources said , adding there was no cap on the expenditure of former Legislators and the government would bear the entire expenditure as per the bills submitted by the PGI.

The sitting members of the both the houses of Legislatures were entitled to monthly medical allowance of Rs 6,000.

The finance department has given its in principal approval for the creation of the fund and the issue would be placed before the Cabinet soon for its approval. Guidelines for the administration of the fund are being framed by the Assembly Secretariat.

This proposal was first mooted during the previous Samajwadi party regime of Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2006. The proposal however got entangled in procedural delays and red tape and was almost buried as the state went into assembly polls in March 2007.

The former members of the both the houses of the state Legislature will be able to draw benefit of the corpus fund by the end of the year as the financial provision in the budget for the fund is yet to be made.

The financial provision for the corpus fund is likely to be made in the first supplementary budget, to be introduced in the next session of the State Legislature and Is likely to be summoned by the second week of September next.

UNI MB RSA DS1215