LG: Claims that Farishtey scheme halted misleading

Lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena has rejected allegations by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government that the Farishtey scheme has been stuck due to non-payment of pending bills, calling the claims “misleading”.The development comes days after the Supreme Court sought the response of the LG on an AAP petition to operationalise the scheme.

- Alok KN Mishra

Under the Farishtey scheme, envisaged in February 2018, the victim of a road accident can go to any hospital and get free treatment. It casts an obligation on the state government to reimburse the private hospitals for the cost of treatment incurred, a programme that has helped save lives of road accident victims who need urgent medical care within the first hour of accident.

On December 8, the Supreme Court asked why two wings of the administration are fighting with each other, as it sought the response of the LG on the AAP’s petition — that the scheme was stuck due to non-payment of pending bills worth over ₹7 crore — and posted the matter for hearing in the first week of January.

The LG, in a letter to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal dated December 14, said that the scheme and its operationalisation are under the health and finance departments — both areas under the jurisdiction of the elected government.