RAHIM YAR KHAN: The project of construction of a social security hospital for industrial labourers has been on the back burner for the last eight years, thanks to the Punjab Employees Social Security Institution (PESSI) that is running its dispensaries and office in rented buildings.

The 50-bed hospital project costing Rs90m was approved in 2012-13 to provide healthcare to about 25,000 registered industrial workers in the district. A piece of five-acre land was purchased in Basti Talib Shah, Akramabad near Muslim Chowk on the National Highway.

Work on the project started but by the end of 2013, it was stopped after construction of only the boundary wall.

Sources say some PESSI officials at the helm of affairs in Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur are the cause of the delay in the project as they allegedly receive ‘kickbacks’ in the deals for rented buildings used for office and dispensaries of the PESSI.

At present, 12 different dispensaries are working in four tehsils under the PESSI Bahawalpur Directorate, all in the rented buildings. These facilities are only providing the industrial labourers with first aid or basic medical care and one has to travel a distance of 200kmm to visit the PESSI hospital in Bahawalpur and Multan for further treatment.

According to PESSI Deputy Director Malik Yousuf, 1,253 industrial units with 20,000 registered workers in Rahim Yar Khan are contributing Rs22m monthly to the PESSI. Despite the industries paying the huge amount, the labourers are deprived of their right to have the facility of a full-fledged hospital.

The official sources say the completion of the hospital project would not only facilitate 20,000 labourers in the district but also would reduce their travel time and expenses too.

Continuing with the previous practice, PESSI Bahawalpur Director (Medical) Dr Muhammad Asghar got a building on rent for the hospital in Abbasia Town at a monthly rent of Rs140,000 on the instructions of PESSI head office, ignoring the Punjab Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules.

When contacted, Dr Muhammad Asghar told this correspondent that his priority was to immediately start the hospital to facilitate the workers regardless of the procedure. He, however, confirmed that after a complaint lodged with the head office, they had been asked to adopt the due procedure and rent a private building through advertisement as per the PPRA rules.

According to PESSI Bahawalpur Director (Administration) Ibrahim Khan, the headquarters in Lahore had awarded the contract to the Social Security Management Company (SSMC) last year for construction of the hospital on the acquired land but the firm withdrew without starting the work.

Labour and Human Resource Department Secretary Aamir Jan and Commissioner PESSI Tanvir Iqbal did not respond to the phone calls and text messages despite repeated attempts made by this correspondent.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2020