Srinagar: Apni Party senior vice president Ghulam Hassan Mir on Tuesday censured the J&K administration for unnecessary delay in issuance of Golden Cards to the prospective beneficiaries who crave for availing healthcare benefits enshrined in the centrally sponsored Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Scheme.
Addressing a joining ceremony of Mohammad Amin Khan, Halka President Peoples Conference from Zirhama Kupwara who along with his workers joined Apni Party at its office in Lal Chowk Srinagar, Mir observed that the patients suffering from various fatal ailments like cancer, kidney failures, liver issues and other chronic diseases are suffering immensely across J&K for want of treatment costs. The ceremony was attended by Party general secretary Rafi Ahmad Mir, state secretary Muntazir Mohi-u-Din, district president Srinagar Noor Mohammad Sheikh, incharge Zadibal constituency Irfan Naqib, Bilal Arif Lone, Mushtaq Ahmad and others.
“I am told that thousands of people have already applied under this scheme but even after completing the requisite formalities, the concerned department has failed to issue Golden Cards to them. The delay in issuance of these cards makes no sense when the J&K had claimed to be the first in the country to launch this scheme for the benefit of its people,” he remarked.
The Apni Party senior vice president said the many important pro people schemes are launched but the concerned departments in J&K have failed to implement these schemes on the ground. “The Golden Card scheme was supposed to provide an annual health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per household covering diseases like cancer and kidney, as well as COVID-19 cases. In addition to other diseases, all treatments for oncology, cardiology, and nephrology will be covered from day one in 23000 hospitals across the country,” Mir observed.
He said that this scheme is important as there are no restrictions whatsoever on the family strength or age, in this insurance policy. “Not only the scheme will cover the cost of three days before a patient is hospitalised and up to 15 days after hospitalization, but the patient will also receive the cost of medicines under this policy,” he informed the meeting.
He urged the Lt. Governor to take a review of the scheme and ask the nodal department to go for a mass awareness of this scheme for its implementation in letter and spirit across Jammu and Kashmir. “Efforts should be made to get the whole population especially the BPL and economically underprivileged sections of the society of J&K covered under this scheme,” he pleaded.
