Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 10 (PTI) The Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on Tuesday directed the Health department to ensure salaries are not denied to ambulance staff under the KANIV-108 initiative.
The Kerala Ambulance Network for Injured Victims (KANIV) is the government’s free emergency ambulance service in Kerala which can be availed by dialing 108.
Commission chairperson Justice Alexander Thomas said that denial of salaries to the KANIV 108 ambulance staff should not be repeated.
It noted that the salaries of the ambulance staff was delayed as the central and state funds were not paid to the company which operated the service.
“Ultimately, the patients’ rights were denied. Such a situation should never arise,” the commission said, pointing out that people sought the service in emergency situations.
It directed the government to take steps to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future and to seriously examine the feasibility of declaring KANIV108 ambulances as a public utility and bring it under the Essential Services Management Act (ESMA).
The directions came on a complaint by Aneesh Maniyan based on news reports of some KANIV 108 staff stopping their services due to a delay in receiving their salaries.
The order stated that the Kerala Medical Services Corporation had not received central and state funds for running the 108 ambulance service till July 27, 2024.
The corporation owes dues of Rs 75.50 crore to the company, which operates the service, leading to non-payment of salaries to the employees, the commission noted. PTI HMP ROH
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.