The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved the free transfer of land for construction of Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) polyclinics in 13 districts, aimed at improving healthcare access for former armed forces personnel and their dependants.
According to the state government, land owned by gram panchayats and local authorities will be transferred at no cost to the Local Military Authority, Central Command and the Centre for developing the proposed healthcare facilities.
The districts selected for the new polyclinics are Etawah, Jalaun, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bijnor, Bulandshahr, Muzaffarnagar, Banda, Ghazipur, Mirzapur, Deoria, Sultanpur, Azamgarh and Gonda.
The initiative is expected to help move the proposed projects towards construction and bring ECHS healthcare services closer to beneficiaries at the district level.
ECHS provides healthcare to ex-servicemen pensioners and their dependants through its polyclinics, armed forces medical facilities, government hospitals and empanelled private hospitals. The scheme was launched on April 1, 2003, with provisions for cashless treatment through its healthcare network.
The state government said the land transfer will support the expansion of healthcare infrastructure for nearly 18 lakh eligible former service personnel and their families across Uttar Pradesh.