4.5 lakh school students under North Corporation bereft of insurance cover

 It has come to light that the North MCD, with around 4.5 lakh students of 765-odd schools under it, has stopped providing insurance facilities to its students.

As per the report, the students enrolled in North MCD schools have not been able to avail insurance facilities from April this year due to non-renewal of the insurance terms. The Corporation, which is supposed to spend Rs 2.5 lakh per annum for the insurance of its students through a private company, is yet to make the payment for the contract renewal. The civic agency claims that the insurance company is seeking Rs 1.30 per children per year or nearly Rs 6 lakh in total, which is beyond its means. “The Corporation is facing a financial crisis hence it cannot bear a premium amount which is more than double in comparison to last year. We have been looking for a company which could provide services on lower premiums,” said a Corporation councillor.

Renu K Jagdev, Additional Commissioner (Revenue) of North Corporation said that the agency issued tenders in February and April but failed to finalise any of the companies. “In February, HDFC Insurance Company came forward with a rate of Rs 1.10 per children but the tender was not allotted as the company was a lone participant. In April, the existing insurance company, Bajaj Allianz, and HDFC insurance participated and the latter had quoted Rs 1.30 which was the lowest. The tender was not awarded due to some reasons and now the agency is gearing up for a fresh tender,” the Additional Commissioner said.

Leader of Opposition in the North Corporation Mukesh Goel said that it’s unfortunate that the students, who fall under economically backward categories, are being deprived due to non-payment of a small amount. The students do not have an insurance coverage and the ruling BJP is paying no heed to this issue. “Last week, a nine-year-old boy died after a grille kept in the balcony of a Municipal school fell on him in North-west Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar due to negligence on the part of school authorities. The family did not get the insurance amount due to lack of coverage. The North Corporation must act like a responsible body by renewing the contract immediately,” Goel said.