WB ESIC Recovers Rs 40Cr Dues

Kolkata: The Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has reported a record Rs 40-crore recovery of dues in West Bengal during 2006-07. The corporation had recently requested the corporates in the State, comprising both public and private sectors and the Kolkata Port Trust, to extend ESI coverage to contractual workers. ESIC has approximately 13 lakh members in the State and has created a revolving fund to avert delay in payments. It has also begun distributing photo-identity cards to its members in West Bengal.