Serial toothache abuse at ONGC
Some people have serious dental problems.
But claiming expenses for as many as two root canals a week is brazen. ONGC chairman Arun Singh highlighted one such case while telling assembled employees at the Nazira-based Assam asset on March 5 (2024) that it is up to them to stamp out abuse of the company's lifelong medical facilities available to them and their families.
He spoke of an employee who claimed Rs20 lakhs ($24,000) for dental treatment from ONGC, prompting Singh to cancel the employee's retirement medical benefits. "At BPCL (where Singh was former chairman), I used to buy medicines and pay 30% tax," said Singh.
"ONGC's system is wonderful (in comparison), and yet some people abuse it, and nobody says it's wrong; instead, someone tells me why to punish him for a small mistake?" Singh added that cheating a company out of Rs20 lakhs is hardly a small mistake. "He had claimed more root canals than the number of teeth in his mouth," said Singh.
"At one point on retirement, he had two root canals a week: all fake." Singh's storytelling skills drew both laughter and applause.
He asked unions to condemn such wrongdoing and asked employees to speak out against it. Two days later, ONGC employee relations chief Rajan Asthana sent out a notice saying employees who misuse medical benefits will lose them.
"A particular case is being shared where misuse of the medical facility was established pertaining to wrongful claims by an employee who has retired," wrote Asthana. "On accepting the fraud, not only was the former employee made to refund the wrong claims with interest, but the medical facility of the individual and dependents has also been discontinued; such harsh decisions are taken under compulsion albeit with remorse."