Thanks to official apathy, SC/ST members deprived of medical aid

Tribune News Service

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Amritsar, March 13

Leave alone poor and uneducated beneficiaries, even the hospital authorities and the district administration are not aware of the Dr BR Ambedkar Medical Aid Scheme which provides a medical assistance of up to Rs3.5 lakh to the members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The medical aid scheme is a programme of the Dr Ambedkar Foundation, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

In his RTI query filed with the Deputy Commissioner’s office to know about the beneficiaries and benefits accrued by them under the Dr BR Ambedkar Medical Aid Scheme in November last year, this information was received by local RTI activist Naresh Johar.

About the scheme

The scheme provides a medical aid of Rs1.25 lakh to Rs3.5 lakh for treatment of kidney, heart, liver, brain, cancer and many other life-threatening diseases, including organ transplants and spinal surgeries. As per the scheme, the medical aid under it is available at hospitals recognized, funded and controlled by the Central Government and the state government, besides nine top medical institutes designated by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

“The Deputy Commissioner’s office forwarded the application to the Civil Surgeon’s office from where I received a reply that the scheme is not available at the hospital,” said Johar. He also received the similar replies from the Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial and Guru Nanak Dev Hospital.

The scheme provides a medical aid of Rs1.25 lakh to Rs3.5 lakh for treatment of kidney, heart, liver, brain, cancer and many other life-threatening diseases, including organ transplants and spinal surgeries. To become eligible for the aid under the scheme, a person belonging to the SC/ST category must have an annual income of less than Rs3 lakh.

As per the scheme, the medical aid under it is available at hospitals recognized, funded and controlled by the Central Government and the state government, besides nine top medical institutes designated by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

“For a poor person, an aid of up to Rs3.5 lakh is life saving in case of a serious disease. If the hospitals and administration are not aware of the scheme, how can eligible beneficiaries avail of it,” said Johar demanding that the higher-ups in the administration and the Health Department must take the matter with the officials concerned and ensure that the financial aid under the scheme was made available to poor people.