Visakhapatnam: Efforts are on to expedite construction of ESI Hospitals in Andhra Pradesh, including the 400-bedded hospital in Visakhapatnam, according to union Minister for Labour Bhupender Yadav.
He was replying to a question raised by BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday regarding delay in construction of seven newly sanctioned ESI hospitals in Andhra Pradesh, and seeking special attention for the timely completion of 400 bedded ESI Hospital in Visakhapatnam for which the ESI Corporation (ESIC) had already sanctioned Rs.384 crore to benefit 4 lakh persons covered under ESI insurance.
The minister revealed that the Ministry has made some changes recently to expedite construction of ESI hospitals. In addition to CPWD, all other governmental agencies engaged in construction would be involved in future construction projects. Also, a dashboard had been prepared for effective monitoring of the 76 hospitals under construction.
Besides, different types of permissions required from local authorities delayed construction and special arrangements had been made to tackle this problem. A decision also was taken to develop a common design of hospitals to be made to reduce the timeframe of construction from four to two years, he explained.