State launches cashless health insurance scheme for farmers
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 11
The Punjab government today launched a health insurance scheme for farmers, titled Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Bima Yojana.
The government has fixed a target of issuing 15 lakh health insurance cards to farmers by May 31 under the scheme. Statewide programmes were held to distribute these cards.
Sangrur: Agriculture Minister Tota Singh distributed insurance cards to farmers here. He said the Punjab Mandi Board had earmarked Rs 40 crore for paying insurance premium, adding that about 3 lakh insurance cards had been distributed today under the scheme throughout the state.
Jathedar Tota Singh stated that under the cashless scheme, J-form-holder farmers would get free treatment up to Rs 50,000 in a year, while in the case of accidental death or 100 per cent physical disability, the head of the family would have an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh.
In Barnala, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla distributed health insurance cards among farmers.
Moga:The state government has started distributing pre-active smart health insurance cards among farmers in Moga district on Monday.
Presiding over a function organised by the district administration at Moga, Irrigation Minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon said in the first phase 36,333 farmers would be provided health insurance cards in the district in the next few weeks.
Nakodar: Deputy Chief MinisterSukhbir Singh Badal, who distributed cards here, said the scheme was a Baisakhi gift to the farmers. He said the Punjab government had already been paying Rs6,000 crore annually to the power corporation in lieu of the supply of free power to farmers. "We will provide interest-free crop loan of Rs50,000 per annum to farmers, besides providing health insurance cover of Rs50,000 and accidental insurance of Rs5 lakh to them," he said.
