JAIPUR: Former municipal employees would soon be entitled to medical reimbursements, as a cabinet sub-committee recommended a corpus fund for the purpose on Tuesday. The decision would benefit nearly 50,000 former employees of the 184 municipal bodies in the state.

The sub-committee comprising industries minister Rajendra Pareek, health minister AA Khan and transport minister Brij Kishore Sharma met at the state secretariat to discuss the long-pending demand along with welfare issues of other government employees on Tuesday.

"Retired municipal employees would start getting medical reimbursements once the corpus creation is cleared by the state cabinet, too," Pareek told reporters after the meeting.

Rajasthan Municipal Corporation Union president Girish Dadhich later said, "The sub-committee's recommendation for the corpus fund is a welcoming step, as around 80% of the municipal employees, especially the sanitation workers, cannot afford medical facilities after retirement."

Dadhich said there were nearly 50,000 municipal employees, including around 13,000 retired ones, in the state. "These employees have been getting pensions since 1987, but facilities like medical reimbursements were denied to them," he said.

Other employees' issues discussed at the meeting related to departmental enquiries under Services Rule 16-CCA. "We have decided to categorise these matters and refer them to a separate committee," minister Pareek said.