E-Paper
Lack of awareness kills Pune civic body’s accident insurance scheme
Only 22 beneficiaries in 2019-20 (till Jan) and 18 in 2018-19 availed the scheme
The Pune Municipal Corporations’s (PMC) Panidt Deendayal Uadhyay accident insurance scheme, launched in 2018, has met with little success due to a lack of awareness.
Under this scheme, residents who pay their property tax in the first two months of the financial year get Rs 5 lakh insurance cover in case of death due to road, rail or air accident and Rs 2.5 lakh in case of a serious injury. This cover is also extended to blood relatives up to the age of 23.
Residents in the city are not aware of this scheme.
In 2018-19 18 citizens took the benefit of the scheme and in 2019-20 (till January), 22 residents have availed of the insurance scheme.
A total of 10 proposals are pending with the insurance firm for settlements, according to PMC officials.
Anjali Sabne, health officer PMC, who heads the execution of this scheme, said, “This year only 22 residents have taken the benefit of the scheme. This number is low, considering, there are at least eight lakh taxpayers in Pune. I have written a letter to the insurance company last week and have instructed them to create awareness of this scheme so as more residents can benefit from it.”
Pune mayor Murlidhar Mohol had taken the initiative to launch this scheme while he was the standing committee chairman in 2018. “The scheme is good and offers various benefits, however, we as the civic body has failed to create awareness regarding the accident scheme. I am thankful to HT for pointing this out. I will call for a meeting soon and take a review of the scheme. I will ensure that all residents are aware of the scheme, so that everyone can benefit from it,” he said.
According to Mohol, initially the scheme was only limited for the taxpayer. The PMC later increased its scope and also allowed family members, that is, spouse, parents and two children to be covered under this scheme. The PMC is paying Rs 75 from each taxpayers money as premium for this accident scheme.
“Considering the number of accidents taking place in the city and the number of taxpayers, there should be more beneficiary for this scheme,” added Mohol.
