Copy of the appeal submitted to First Appellate Authority, Major General Anil Mehta of Army...
To,
Provost
Marshal & Appellate Authority,
Integrated
HQ of MoD(Army),
Room
No. 421-A, ‘B’ Wing, Sena Bhavan,
New
Delhi. Phone No.011-23014946
Dated- 30 -07-2013
SUB: FIRST APPEAL UNDER PROVISION OF RIGHT TO
INFORMATION ACT, 2005.
Sir,
1. Please
refer to my queries raised under RTI Act 2005 vide letter dated 11/6/13 and
reply received from MoD vide their letter No A/810027/RTI/13438 dt. 09/7/13.
2. The
replies received for the queries raised vide my letter under reference have not
been answered adequately. Irrelevant, incongruous and inadequate replies are
given by RTI cell of MoD based on inputs from Central Organisation ECHS vide
their letter under reference. The table
below gives details of my queries raised, reply received and inadequacy of such
replies.
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Query First Raised by
Applicant
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Reply Rendered by MoD
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Inadequacy of Reply Now Addressed to First Appellate Authority
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(a)
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What is
the exact rule position of Government of India on provisioning health care to
Ex-Servicemen (ESM).
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For
information with regards to medical facilities under ECHS, please visit
website of ECHS
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The
Query is specifically seeking the ‘rule position’ based on which ECHS may
have evolved. Aim of the question is to ascertain as to what extent the
healthcare is provided for to ESM. The adequacy of ECHS can hardly be judged
by the information available on ECHS website unless the specific document is
duly uploaded in (non editable form) and exists on website as part of its
database. Merely suggesting a visit to website amounts to providing a vague
and unclear reply as websites are dynamic and electronic pages are constantly
being modified /updated by website managers. It is requested ‘Rule Position’
as it may be existing in statute be provided or a specific reference be
provided which may be admissible as evidence in future.
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(b)
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How
much contribution has been collected from ESM till 31 March 2013 since
inception of ECHS.
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It is
intimated that income from contribution is not being received at Central
Organisation ECHS
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The
question is seeking the total volume of contribution received till 31/3/2013
and not the destination of such contribution. It further appears incongruous
that ECHS (Ex Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme) which has contribution
as an essential threshold to grant membership to ESM does not have access to
inputs on how much contribution has been collected/being collected. Please
provide the necessary data or provide the correct office details where this
critical input is available.
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(c)
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Often
prescribed medicine is not available at polyclinics. Is there a provision of
keeping record of ‘Not Dispensed’ medicine and if yes what is the mechanism
for delivery of the same to patient ESM.
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Yes,
the mechanism exists. The medicines are procured through AFMSD and SEMOs in
military stations. OICs of non military stations also have limited financial
powers for procurement of life saving medicines.
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The
question is seeking answer pertaining to ‘Not Dispensed Medicine’, the record
keeping of same and subsequent delivery to patient ESM. The reply received is
explaining system of procurement in military and non military stations.
Please provide a clear answer to the query raised.
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(d)
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Is
there a 24X7 helpline which can respond to an ESM facing medical emergency ?
If yes, how many cases it handled in last three years.
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Yes
there is a helpline established for redressal of grievances with toll free No
1800114115 (0900 hrs – 1700 hrs)
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The
question is pertaining to helpline for medical emergency and not for
grievance redressal. Even that is also not 24X7 as evident from the working
hours mentioned in the reply. It is painful to such vague and poor reply.
Please provide correct answer to specific query raised.
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(e)
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Is
there a grievance redressal mechanism for ESM who are availing the services
of ECHS. If yes how many suggestions/complaints were received in last there
years and how many were resolved including intimation of the same to
complainant and to environment
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Details
of complaints received during the last three years is as under:-
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Query
is seeking the existence of such system and composition of functionaries
therein. The reply also fails to provide inputs on whether or not the
resolution of complaints was made available to environment i.e. community of
ESM dependent on ECHS. Please provide correct and adequate response.
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3. Kindly provide adequate response to the
queries raised. I would prefer an electronic copy of the replies if it is
suitable at your end. My email id is nareshpsbana@gmail.com
Thanking You,
Yours
sincerely,
(Naresh
Pal Singh Bana)
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Now please read the order of the appellate authority...
