Aam Aadmi Party national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced a health bonanza for residents of Punjab if the AAP is voted to power in 2022.
Addressing halqa in-charges across the state and the media in Ludhiana, Kejriwal announced six guarantees for health for Punjab residents on the Delhi model. The six-point health agenda includes “pind” or village clinics and ward clinics in urban areas of the state.
He said that today barring Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh, all government-run health institutions in the state are in a pitiable condition, forcing the common man to go to private hospitals. “These private hospitals loot people, while in the government sector, there is a serious shortage of staff and infrastructure,” he said.
Expanding on the six guarantees, he said: “Firstly, every Punjab resident will get free and best treatment. Secondly, all medicines, all tests, all operations will be free of cost in government hospitals in the state,” he said.
“We will ensure all medicines are available and we will ensure all machines are functional. Even costly operations costing ₹15 lakh will be free,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“We will ensure all medicines are available and we will ensure all machines are functional. Even costly operations costing ₹15 lakh will be free,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Kejriwal also said that every Punjab citizen will get a health card. That card will have all the information and reports pertaining to the person.
Making the fourth promise, Kejriwal said that on lines of mohalla clinic, they will be opening ‘pind clinics’ at every nook and corner while ward clinics will be opened in cities. As many as 15,000 such clinics will be opened in the state, he said.
Kejriwal added that infrastructure of all government hospitals in state will be improved and these will be made fully air-conditioned with all facilities readily available.
Lastly, if anyone has a road accident, he be rushed to the nearest hospital and the cost will be borne by the Punjab Government irrespective of whether it is a private or government hospital, he said.
When questioned as to how the cash starved state will generate funds for free treatment and other policies announced, Kejriwal said they faced the same situation in Delhi when they announced mohalla clinics. “Funds will be generated. The mohalla clinics in Delhi are now an example for everyone while when we first took the initiative, Delhi also had similar funds problem, but we did it” he said.
“His idea is good but free treatment for all Punjab residents means catering to over 3 crore population. Free medicines for all also seem a distant reality. Promises made should at least look convincible. Even yesterday, the industry had big expectations that Kejriwal will announce tax reforms that will benefit the industry, but he never announced any. Even electricity rebates promised are not enough as the power tariff for the industry in Punjab right now is almost the same as that of industry in Delhi. There were also not many representatives from prominent industries present. The AAP failed to utilise the opportunity fully,” said Pankaj Sharma, general secretary, Chamber of Commercial and Industrial Undertakings (CICU).