AAP accuses Delhi govt of halting ‘farishtey’ scheme, BJP hits back

The scheme covered the entire treatment cost of accident victims in private hospitals, encouraging bystanders to assist them

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Delhi government of discontinuing the former’s “Farishtey Dilli Ke” scheme, which was meant to provide free medical treatment to road accident victims in private hospitals. Hitting back, the BJP said that the scheme was an avenue for corruption by siphoning off government funds, and was a sign that government hospitals in Delhi did not have adequate facilities to treat road accident victims. The BJP said the Delhi government and Delhi Police would provide the best medical facilities to road accident victims through government hospitals.

AAP’s Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bhardwaj. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Addressing a press conference, AAP Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, who was also the former health minister, said that the scheme had saved thousands of lives but was now being halted.

“Thousands of people get into road accidents, lie injured on the road and die. In 2017, we brought a Farishtey Dilli Ke scheme which ensured that victims of such accidents could be taken to any private hospital and the treatment cost borne by the Delhi government. In 2022, the government found that more than 10,000 lives were saved through this scheme...How can someone stop such a humanitarian scheme that saves lives? But the BJP government has stopped it and removed it from the budget. Now treatment under this scheme will not be paid by the government,” Bharadwaj said.

The scheme covered the entire treatment cost of accident victims in private hospitals, encouraging bystanders to assist them without worrying about financial burden. Bharadwaj claimed that the scheme had saved 10,000 lives since it was introduced.

Bharadwaj alleged that the BJP had attempted to stop the scheme even during his tenure as health minister. “We had written to the lieutenant governor to keep this scheme going. I had to approach the Supreme Court as health minister of Delhi, after which notices were issued, and funds were released by officers to continue the initiative. BJP failed to stop this scheme through the LG, but now, after coming to power, they have shut it down completely,” he alleged.

The Delhi government, in its 2025-26 budget presented by chief minister Rekha Gupta, allocated ₹12,893 crore for the health sector, prioritising the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, the establishment of two new medical colleges, and the addition of 16,186 hospital beds.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that under the name of public welfare, all schemes implemented by Arvind Kejriwal turned out to be avenues for scams, and the “farishtey” scheme not only fell in this category but also exposed the claims of the Kejriwal government about having a world-class health model. “Since 2015, the Kejriwal government has been claiming world-class healthcare services and efficient hospitals. In this context, the people of Delhi are asking why, if all services were available in government hospitals, the government had to introduce the farishtey scheme to provide free treatment in private hospitals? It is clear that either government hospitals were non-functional, or the government’s intention was to send accident victims to private hospitals where hefty bills could be generated under the pretext of providing services — enabling commission-based corruption. By mid-2023, this scheme had almost come to a halt. According to Bharadwaj, only 22,000 people benefited from it. This means that during this period, there were 11 serious accidents every day in Delhi, and all the victims had to be taken to private hospitals. This clearly shows that either the government hospitals were non-functional or there was collaboration between private hospitals and AAP workers for manipulation, resulting in the siphoning of government funds.”