Free health scheme for BPL families in MP

Bhopal, June 21(UNI) All families living below the poverty line(BPL) in Madhya Pradesh will be covered under the Deendayal Antyodaya Upachar Yojana facilitating medical treatment up to Rs 20,000 in a year.

The state cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan here yesterday, decided to increase the coverage of the scheme to all BPL families as only 20.38 lakh such families were provided family cards under the scheme till January this year. As many as 45.86 lakh families in the state have been listed in the BPL category at present, official sources said.

Facility of medical treatment up to Rs 20,000 has been fixed under the scheme.

The cabinet also granted permission for local purchase of medicines and other necessary material by relaxing the store purchase rules. Under this, 30 percent funds of the budget allotted under the scheme would be used for purchase of medicines at local level on emergency requirement.

The cabinet also decided to extend the period of special recruitment drive to fill up the posts reserved for physically challenged to March 31, 2007. Earlier, it was fixed as March 31, 2006. Six percent of the posts in government services have been reserved for the physically challenged.

The cabinet also decided to give the benefit of pension to the employees retired from the units of MP State Industries Corporation at par with the pensioners of the state government. This benefit would be given to such employees of the corporation who were drawing salary under the fourth pay commission payscale and retired after January 1, 1996. The cabinet also authorised the Finance department for taking decision in such cases of other corporations also.

The state cabinet accorded sanction to the revised incentive scheme 2006 for modernisation and improvement of cinema houses in small towns of the state. Under the Incentive Scheme Rules 2006, the applicants of such cinema houses will have to submit all essential information in a prescribed proforma.

The applicants will have to submit a letter of declaration that the same facilities will continue to be provided by them upto three years even after the period of exemption of entertainment duty is ended. In its absence, the owner of such cinema house will have to refund the amount of exemption along with interest.

Similarly, it would also be compulsory for the owners of cinema houses to keep the improvement works continue for the next three years with effect from the date of expiry of exemption.

UNI SP SBA BD1207