Bharati the mother of Kishan, who has not been able to start physiotherapy for her son three years after his NDA discharge (right); Kishan Kulakarni at the NDA (left). (Express)The Defence Ministry Friday sanctioned the grant of medical facilities under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) to officer cadets who get medically discharged for suffering varying degrees of disabilities during military training. They were not eligible for ECHS benefits so far, since they are not entitled to the status of ex-servicemen (ESM).Under the ECHS, all such cadets will now be able to avail free treatment at military facilities, ECHS polyclinics, and empanelled hospitals.While a decision on this has been in the pipeline, the development comes just over a fortnight after The Indian Express published reports on the plight of officer cadets who were discharged from the nation’s top military training institutes on medical grounds — and have since been battling severe disability with shattered dreams and poor benefits.Subsequently, the Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of the Centre and the armed forces in a suo motu case based on reports published in The Indian Express.Must Read | Mounting medical bills, nowhere to go: Braveheart cadets disabled in military training struggle in shadowsIn an order issued on Friday, the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW) under the Ministry of Defence stated that the grant of medical facilities under the ECHS to officer cadets who are invalidated from their training due to medical grounds — attributable to or aggravated by military training — has been sanctioned.The order mentioned that the scheme would be free for such cadets, which means that the one-time subscription fee of Rs 1.2 lakh, applicable to ex-servicemen officers, will not be charged from the officer cadets towards joining the ECHS scheme.This facility is, however, only available for the affected cadet. The sanction is granted as a special one-time dispensation. The sanction order was addressed to the three service chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff.Story continues below this adAt present, all ESMs are eligible for ECHS benefits. However, these cadets are not entitled to the status of ESM, which would have made them eligible under the ECHS for free treatment at military facilities and empanelled hospitals, since their disabilities took place during training before they were commissioned as officers.The cadets have long been seeking a disability pension and an ESM status from the government, which would have granted them not only ECHS benefits, but also provided them career resettlement options.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:military