Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has demanded an ESI Sub-Regional office at Jharsuguda under its Regional office in Bhubaneswar so that employees of western Odisha districts would be benefitted.
He sought the personal intervention of Union Minister of Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav through a DO letter on September 28.
Pradhan mentioned that while the Bhubaneswar office is accessible to 17 nearby districts, for the employees and beneficiaries of the remaining 13 districts the proposed Jharsuguda centre would be nearer. Jharsuguda has a concentration of a large number of small and large industries. It is estimated that there are 30 different employers in and around Jharsuguda and adjoining Rourkela area. It is an ideal place for establishing an ESI centre, he said.
He has stated that while most other States have one and more ESI Sub-Regional offices, Odisha has only one RO in Bhubaneswar. Secondly, the Bhubaneswar office has 7.4 lakh IPs attached to it up to Mrach 31, 2021; so, it’s not accessible to many beneficiaries of the State.
Pradhan also brought to the notice of Yadav that the Odisha Government has proposed setting up of 12 new ESI dispensaries at Talcher, Jaleswar, Nilagiri, Soro, Dhamara, Trisulia, Adaspur, Jagatsinghpur, Joda, Nimapara, Bonai and Koira and shifting of an existing one from Brajarajnagar to Belpahar in Jharsuguda.
The State Government has sent these proposals to the ESI headquarters. So, Pradhan sought Yadav’s personal intervention for clearance of the proposals.
