NEW DELHI: In view of the pressure on medical infrastructure in the national capital during the pandemic, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has approved temporary delinking of submission of medical report from the Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR) of Delhi government employees aged 40 years and above. The mandatory annual health checkup for these employees has also been waived off.
In August 2019, the L-G had accorded approval to the proposal for 'mandatory annual health checkup' for improving overall 'productivity and efficiency' of administration. Previously, only officers of all-India services were required to undergo an annual test of their general state of health.
"In the present situation of COVID-19 pandemic, the health checkup may put extra strain on the already stressed health system and the employees may face difficulties in getting the checkup done in time. In view of the prevailing situations, the L-G has approved the delinking of submission of summary of health report from APAR for the period 2021-2022 and also to waive off annual health checkup for the same period," said an office memorandum (OM) issued by the deputy secretary (services) of the state government recently.
Similar relief was also given last year because of the pandemic situation in the national capital. All the Delhi government employees aged 40 years and above have to undergo a mandatory health checkup annually, and the cost of the medical examination will be borne by their respective departments.
To ensure that all employees followed the rules with sincerity, the medical examination report was made compulsory for the APAR. Appropriate amendments were also made mandating incorporation of summary of health report in the APAR of the concerned officer or officials. Without the report, the APAR is treated as incomplete.
The office memorandum also stated that if any employee, despite exemption, undergoes the health checkup this year, reimbursement will be made as per the rules. "For subsequent years, mandatory annual health checkup of all eligible serving employees shall invariably be done in the months where the birth date of the officer/officials, in accordance with the guidelines issued by services department vide OM dated 27/11/ 2019," says the note.
Under the scheme, a male employee is entitled reimbursement of Rs 2,000, while a female employee will get Rs 2,200. Around 1.5 lakh employees working in 150 various departments get benefitted under the scheme.