Pune: The civic body is contemplating to fund medical expenses of deceased corporators’ family members, even as activists said the administration must be judicious about such expenditure.Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials said the standing committee had approved a proposal regarding the same and it will be sent to the general body for a final nod. A rider of income sources must be kept before finalising the scheme, so that public funds are not be misused, activists said.One of the corporators who gave the proposal to the standing committee, Congress’s Prashant Jagtap, said, “Corporators have many needy dependents and the scheme is intended to help them. The same initiative was in place until a few years ago. It was scrapped after the administration took charge. We are only reintroducing it.”Jagtap said primary estimates indicated that around 200 people would benefit from the scheme.Officials said the civic administration provided financial aid for medical treatment to financially weaker sections under the urban poor health scheme. The PMC started the initiative in 2010 and it was renamed after former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar recently. The PMC offers free or subsidised treatment in affiliated hospitals as a benefit and covers expenses up to Rs1 lakh. The amount may be extended to Rs2 lakh, in case of critical illnesses. The civic body spends around Rs50 crore to Rs60 crore annually on the scheme.Vijay Kumbhar of citizens group Surajya Sangharsh Samiti said, “Several needy patients fail to benefit from the urban poor health scheme due to lack of funds. The administration must ensure that money and schemes meant for the poor are not misused.”
