Ministry of Labour and Employment Public

115 PERFORMANCE AUDIT OF EMPLOYEES STATE INSURANCE CORPORATION AND SPECIAL AUDIT OF MEDICAL EDUCATION PROJECTS OF ESIC [Action Taken by the Government on the Observations/Recommendations of the Committee contained in their Sixty-Seventh Report (16th Lok Sabha)] MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE (2018-19) ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEENTH REPORT SIXTEENTH LOK SABHA LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT 8_ NEW DELHI NEW DELHInew LY 2 PAC NO. 2154 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEENTH REPORT PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE (2018-19) SIXTEENTH LOK SABHA PERFORMANCE AUDIT OF EMPLOYEES STATE INSURANCE CORPORATION AND SPECIAL AUDIT OF MEDICAL EDUCATION PROJECTS OF ESIC [Action Taken by the Government on the Observations/ Recommendations of the Committee contained in their Sixty-Seventh Report (16th Lok Sabha)] MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT Presented to Lok Sabha on: ……………….. Laid in Rajya Sabha on: ……………….. L O K S A B H A S E C R E T A R I A T N E W D E L H I December, 2018/ Agrahayana, 1940 (Saka) 3 CONTENTS PAGE COMPOSITION OF THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS (iii) COMMITTEE (2018-19) INTRODUCTION ……………………………... …………………….. (iv) CHAPTER I Report ………………………………………………. 1 CHAPTER II* Observations/Recommendations which have been accepted by the Government …………………….. CHAPTER III* Observations/Recommendations which the Committee do not desire to pursue in view of the replies received from the Government ..………….. CHAPTER IV* Observations/Recommendations in respect of which replies of the Government have not been accepted by the Committee and which require reiteration ……………………………………………. CHAPTER V Observations/Recommendations in respect of 25 which the Government have furnished interim replies ………………………………………………… ANNEXURES/APPENDICES I *Annexures 1 to 20 II *Minutes of the Twentieth Sitting of the Public Accounts Committee (2018-19) held on 5th December, 2018 III Analysis of the Action Taken by the Government on 26 the Observations/Recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee contained in their Sixty- seventh Report (Sixteenth Lok Sabha) ________________________________________________________________ *Will be appended at the time of printing. 4 COMPOSITION OF THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE (2018-19) Shri Mallikarjun Kharge - Chairperson MEMBERS LOK SABHA 2. Shri Subhash Chandra Baheria 3. Shri Sudip Bandyopadhyay 4. Shri Prem Singh Chandumajra 5. Shri Gajanan Chandrakant Kirtikar 6. Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab 7. Smt. Riti Pathak 8. Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” 9. Shri Janardan Singh Sigriwal 10. Shri Abhishek Singh 11. Shri Gopal Shetty 12. Dr. Kirit Somaiya 13. Shri Anurag Singh Thakur 14. Shri Shivkumar Chanabasappa Udasi 15. Dr. Ponnusamy Venugopal RAJYA SABHA 16. Prof. M. V. Rajeev Gowda 17. Shri Bhubaneswar Kalita 18. Shri Shwait Malik 19. Shri Narayan Lal Panchariya 20. Shri Sukhendu Sekhar Roy 21. Shri C.M.Ramesh 22. Shri Bhupender Yadav SECRETARIAT 1. Shri A.K. Singh - Additional Secretary 2. Shri T. JayaKumar - Director 3. Smt. Bharti S. Tuteja - Deputy Secretary 4. Smt. Malvika Mehta - Committee Officer 5 INTRODUCTION I, the Chairperson, Public Accounts Committee (2018-19), having been authorised by the Committee, do present this One Hundred and Fifteenth (Sixteenth Lok Sabha) on Action Taken by the Government on the Observations/Recommendations of the Committee contained in their Sixty-Seventh Report (Sixteenth Lok Sabha) on ‘Performance Audit of Employees State Insurance Corporation and Special Audit of Medical Education Projects of ESIC’ relating to the Ministry of Labour and Employment. 2. The Sixty-Seventh Report was presented to Lok Sabha/laid in Rajya Sabha on 30 March, 2017. Replies of the Government to the Observations/ Recommendations contained in the Report were received on 3rd July, 2018. The Public Accounts Committee considered and adopted the One Hundred and Fifteenth report at their sitting held on 5th December, 2018. Minutes of the Sitting are given at Appendix-I. 3. For facility of reference and convenience, the Observations and Recommendations of the Committee have been printed in bold in the body of the Report. 4. The Committee place on record their appreciation of the assistance rendered to them in the matter by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. 5. An analysis of the Action Taken by the Government on the Observations/Recommendations contained in the Sixty Seventh Report (Sixteenth Lok Sabha) is given at Appendix-II. NEW DELHI; Mallikarjun Kharge 12 December, 2018 Chairperson 21 Agrahayana, 1940 (Saka) Public Accounts Committee 6 APPENDIX-II (Vide Paragraph 5 of Introduction) ANALYSIS OF THE ACTION TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT ON THE OBSERVATIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE CONTAINED IN THEIR SIXTY SEVENTH REPORT (SIXTEENTH LOK SABHA) (i) Total number of Observations/Recommendations 24 (ii) Observations/Recommendations of the Committee Total : 18 which have been accepted by the Government: Percentage: 75% Para Nos. 1 to 5, 7, 9 and 12 to 22. (iii) Observations/Recommendations which the Total : 00 Committee do not desire to pursue in view of Percentage: Nil % the reply of the Government: Para Nos. Nil. (iv) Observations/Recommendations in respect of Total : 04 which replies of the Government have not been Percentage:16.66 % accepted by the Committee and which require reiteration: Para Nos. 8, 10, 11 and 23. (v) Observations/Recommendations in respect of Total : 02 which the Government have furnished interim replies: Percentage:8.33 % Para Nos. 6 and 24. ***** 7 CHAPTER – I REPORT This Report of the Public Accounts Committee deals with action taken by the Government on the Observations/Recommendations of the Committee contained in their Sixty Seventh Report (Sixteenth Lok Sabha) on “Performance Audit of Employees State Insurance Corporation and Special Audit of Medical Education Projects of ESIC” based on two Audit reports viz. Report No. 30 of 2014 regarding Performance Audit of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation and Report No. 40 of 2015 pertaining to Special Audit of Medical Education Projects of ESIC. 2. The Sixty Seventh Report (Sixteenth Lok Sabha) was presented to the Parliament on 31.03.2017. It contained twenty four Observations/Recommendations. Action Taken Notes have been received from the Ministry of Labour and Employment in respect of all the Observations/Recommendations and are broadly categorised as follows: (i) Observation/Recommendations which have been accepted by the Government Recommendation Para Nos.1 to 5, 7, 9 and 12 to 22. Total:18 Chapter II (ii) Observation/Recommendations which the Committee do not desire to pursue in view of the replies received from the Government NIL Total:Nil Chapter III (iii) Observation/Recommendations in respect of which replies of the Government have not been accepted by the Committee and which require reiteration Recommendation Para Nos. 8,10,11 and 23 Total:04 Chapter IV (iv) Observation/Recommendations in respect of which the Government have furnished interim replies Recommendation Para Nos. 6 and 24. Total:02 Chapter V 3. The detailed examination of the subject by the Committee had revealed serious lacunae in the functioning of ESIC such as outstanding dues on account of contribution from covered establishments, irregular availing of medical benefits from ESIC dispensaries/hospitals without paying contribution, shortfalls in number of meetings of Standing Committee, Medical Benefit Council, Regional Boards and Hospital Development Committees, shortfalls in conducting surveys/inspections/test inspections, 8 humongous increase in expenditure on Super Speciality Treatment, purchase of dressing items and medicines from local market despite existence of Rate Contract etc. 4. In the case of medical education projects, the Committee had observed incomprehensive feasibility study for selection of sites/locations conducted by the consultant, arbitrary award of different works to different architectural and engineering consultants, absence of due diligence to ascertain the number of colleges required to be opened, time and cost overrun in almost all the medical education projects taken up, and ineffective strategy adopted by ESIC to meet the shortage of medical and paramedical staff. 5. The Committee were of the view that concrete action should have been taken by ESIC rather than stop gap arrangements to ensure that ESIC fulfilled its mandate of providing adequate and good quality medical care to workers and their dependants during contingencies such as sickness, maternity and death or disablement due to employment injury or occupational disease. 6. The Action Taken Notes were furnished by the Ministry of Labour and Employment after a delay of more than eight months. The Committee deprecate the undue delay in submission of Action Taken Notes by the Ministry and desire that necessary instructions may be issued to ensure that replies to the Committee are henceforth, submitted in time. 7. The Action Taken Notes submitted by the Ministry on the Observations/Recommendations of the Committee contained in their Sixty Seventh Report (Sixteenth Lok Sabha) have been reproduced in the relevant Chapters of this Report in the succeeding paragraphs. The Committee will now deal with the Action Taken by the Government on some of their Observations/Recommendations made in the original Report which either need reiteration or merit comments. 8. The Committee desire the Ministry of Labour & Employment (Ministry) to furnish Action Taken Notes in respect of Observations/ Recommendations contained in Chapter I and final Action Taken Replies in respect of Observations/

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