PMC to provide accident cover to the sincere taxpayers’ families

Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to cover sincere taxpayers’ families under Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay accident insurance scheme which gives a cover of Rs 5 lakh per annum. 

Last year, it was announced that the cover would be provided to the property owners only. However, the decision to cover the families as well, was taken in a standing committee meeting on Tuesday. The insured amount is paid to the beneficiaries in case of death or permanent disability in road accidents.

The civic body started this scheme in 2018. The scheme was the brainchild of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the party got the majority in PMC civic polls-2017. The insurance cover is a reward to the citizens for paying the property tax before the deadline of May 31. The programme came into force from March 1, 2018. However, due to lack of awareness on the scheme, only 18 taxpayers benefited through this.

PMC Standing Committee Chairman Sunil Kamble said the committee has decided to add the family members of the taxpayers in Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay accident insurance scheme. The corporation has tied up with New India Insurance Company. The corporation will pay Rs 5 crore to the company as premium for the scheme.

He added, “We have included taxpayer, his wife, parents and two unmarried children (up to the age of 23 years) in the scheme. Last year, very few people got benefit of the scheme. This year, we have decided to spread awareness among people and print scheme related details on property tax bill.”

Under this scheme, if a property owner dies in a road accident, the family member will get Rs 5 lakh. If the property owner’s dependent dies in an accident, the property owner will get Rs 2.50 lakh. For injury, the family members will get Rs 1 lakh worth treatment. The scheme also includes ambulance charges for carrying the patients.