What about Ayushman Bharat scheme in Delhi? HC asks Delhi Govt

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday sought Delhi government's response on a plea seeking its direction to the AAP dispensation to facilitate the implementation of the Centre's flagship Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme in the national capital.

The PIL, filed by Delhi BJP media in-charge Pratyush Kanth and legal cell in-charge Surya Prakash Khatri, said Delhi must take adequate steps to tackle the rise in diseases and to have a cogent medical infrastructure to cater to the emergent needs of its inhabitants.

Representing the petitioners, advocates Jayant Tripathi and Saniya Scott argued that the Delhi government is not implementing the Ayushman Bharat scheme and claiming it has a better policy. However, no such Delhi government policy exists, the counsels claimed.

They urged a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar to ask the Aam Aadmi Party government to produce the policy.

Seeking a direction to the Delhi government to implement the scheme, the petition said, "The Government of India, in order to ensure that its population has universal access to good quality healthcare services without anyone having to face financial hardship, inaugurated the flagship 'Ayushman Bharat Scheme' under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Government of India in order to fulfil the vision of Health for all and Universal Health Coverage, enshrined in the National Health Policy, 2017, conceptualized the said scheme."

It said a majority of states and union territories have signed a memorandum of understanding with the central government barring Odisha, Telangana and Delhi.

"However, in order to effectively and efficiently tackle the issue of inadequate medical infrastructure, it is imperative for the aforementioned states and union territories to adopt the scheme, in the larger interest of the public," it said.

Billed as the world's largest government healthcare programme, Ayushman Bharat will be funded with 60 per cent contribution from the Centre and the remaining from the states.

The scheme targets the poor deprived rural families and identified occupational category of urban workers' families, 8.03 crore in rural and 2.33 crore in urban areas, as per the latest Socio-Economic Caste Census data. It will cover around 50 crore people and there is no cap on family size and age in the scheme, ensuring that nobody is left out.

Over 8,735 hospitals, both public and private, have been empanelled for the scheme.

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