Employees’ State Insurance Corporation’s (ESIC’s) decision on Tuesday to directly manage its new and upcoming hospitals stems from the fact that West Bengal, under previous Mamata Banerjee government did not allow two newly constructed hospitals to run for four years, top sources in Ministry of Labour and Employment said. More than hundred new ESIC hospitals are coming up across the country other than about 165 existing ones.Of these , 59 hospitals are either directly owned model hospitals or are part of facilities attached to medical colleges, both of the ESIC. The remaining 106 hospitals are operating under the ESI schemes by states.“An ESIC hospital in Haldia and another in Siliguri were left lying idle for four years since the then West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee did not grant necessary approvals, denying people access to affordable medical facilities. But, with the new government in power in Kolkata, the much needed hospital services in the state and the region will resume,” sources in the Ministry of Labour and Employment told businessline, adding that Siliguri facility is also meant to take care of north-eastern states too.Since health is a state subject, approval of the West Bengal government was necessary as per the law to make it functional, the sources added. Now in the four Labour Codes, Centre is not obligated to take the ‘consent’ of the state for starting the ESIC hospital. Only they have to ‘consult’ the states, sources explained.After the 198th meeting of the ESIC, chaired by Union Minister for Labour & Employment Mansukh Mandaviya, concluded on Tuesday, the Ministry issued a statement and said that a significant decision was taken which was aimed at ensuring standardised, efficient, and high-quality healthcare services in the country.To roll out that, the Corporation approved that all upcoming and newly commissioned ESI hospitals will now be directly managed by ESIC. Hospitals currently under state governments and undergoing reconstruction or upgradation will continue under state management unless the concerned state government opts for handover to ESIC, the statement clarified.An in-principle approval was given for a Radiation Oncology Block at ESIC Medical College & Hospital, Joka, Kolkata — featuring a High-Energy Linear Accelerator, CT Simulator Unit, Brachytherapy Unit, and PET-CT Scan facility — to strengthen cancer care for beneficiaries across the Eastern Zone, including West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, and the North-Eastern States.Sources also stated that some of the states are also asking the ESIC to take over their individual hospitals for better management and efficient functioning, as some states lack adequate financial resources . Also, many complaints have been received that doctors at ESIC state hospital, which fall in their labour departments, don’t perform their duties leaving the medical infrastructure in disarray , sources pointed out.The ESIC has accepted requests and taken over the administration of the ones in Surat, Gwalior, Puducherry, among others. Request for taking the state run ESIC hospital in Bhilwara is pending.But there also some other states where these hospitals, including in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, are running efficientlyTwo more in-principle approvals were also accorded in the Tuesday’s meeting. One was for reorganisation and strengthening of the Medical Education Division, including creation of functional verticals and additional posts, and constitution of an ESIC Medical Education Advisory Association, to support the expansion of medical, dental, nursing, and allied health science institutions.The other for Zonal Rehabilitation Centres for comprehensive occupational health management; the phased upgradation of ESIC Model Hospital, Bari Brahmana, Jammu from 50 to 100 beds (comprising 20 additional beds within the existing building, a new 30-bed ward, and identification of land for a new facility in the region); upgradation of ESIC Hospital, Tirunelveli from 100 bedded to 150 bedded and acquiring of adjacent lands for developing SST blocks.The Corporation approved adoption of a new consolidated Memorandum of Understanding for State ESI Societies, replacing the 2017 models of the Memorandum of Association and Rules & Regulations, necessitated by the enactment of the Code on Social Security, 2020. The decision also enables Governing Body and Executive Committee sessions to proceed during pending non-official nominations, and designates the Insurance Commissioner and Medical Commissioner as permanent invitees to such meetings, said the Ministry statement.The Corporation approved a series of major healthcare infrastructure initiatives, including the establishment of Occupational Disease Centres (ODCs) at Sanathnagar, Faridabad, Ludhiana, Beltola, and Bhubaneswar.Published on July 1, 2026