Military veterans, Veer Naris and dependents of Jharkhand can now get treatment at AIIMS Deoghar

Kolkata, Aug 14 (AHN) Nearly 1.2 lakh military veterans, Veer Naris and their dependents in Jharkhand will now get access to tertiary medical care at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Deoghar.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Regional Centre of the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and AIIMS, Deoghar, to this effect at Ranchi on Friday.

"The empanelment will benefit nearly 1.2 lakh Ex-Servicemen, Veer Naris & eligible dependents, enabling access to advanced and specialised healthcare services across Jharkhand," the Army's Eastern Command said on social media platform X.

The Eastern Command called it a "significant step towards strengthening veteran healthcare and honouring those who served the nation".

There are already a number of ECHS empanelled hospitals in Jharkhand.

Apart from Ranchi, they are located at major towns like Jamshedpur and Dhanbad.

As of 2023, the state has 23 empanelled hospitals where beneficiaries can receive cashless treatment.

The empanelment of AIIMS Deoghar is a major step.

ECHS was launched in April 2003 to provide quality medical care to veterans and their dependents.

As of March 31, 2023, it had 30 Regional Centres (RC) and 433 Polyclinics (PC). This includes six polyclinics in Nepal.

ECHS entitles all veterans drawing pension from Controller of Defence Accounts, including those in receipt of disability/family pension and their dependents to be eligible for membership.

Membership has been made compulsory for all pensioners with effect from April 1, 2003, and is optional for earlier retirees.

The ECHS membership has been extended to pensioners of Territorial Army (TA), Defence Security Corps (DSC), Indian Coast Guard (ICG), Military Nursing Service (MNS), Special Frontier Force (SFF), Nepal Domiciled Gorkha (NDG), Whole time NCC Officers, eligible Army Postal Service (APS) pensioners, Assam Rifles pensioners, World War-II veterans, Short Service Commission Officers (SSCOs), Emergency Commissioned Officers (ECOs) and pre-mature retirees.

The amount of contribution for becoming an ECHS member varies from Rs 30,000 to Rs 1,20,000, depending on rank.

Veterans who retired prior to January 1, 1996, war widows and war disabled, including those disabled in internal security duties, are exempted from payment of ECHS contribution.

The scheme allows proper healthcare for veterans, Veer Naris and dependents, without exerting pressure on the Command Hospitals, where serving personnel and their dependents receive treatment.

"This is part of a continuous effort to give our veterans and their dependents their dues," an official said.