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.