Delhi govt approves Ayushman Bharat insurance scheme

Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat on Thursday night, she said the cabinet also approved the tabling of 14 CAG reports in the first session of the Delhi assembly

New Delhi

The Delhi CM and her council of ministers, besides BJP MPs, at her office. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

In her first cabinet meeting after taking charge as the Delhi chief minister, Rekha Gupta and her council of ministers approved the implementation of the Centre’s flagship health care scheme, the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, which was at the centre of a tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat on Thursday night, she said the cabinet also approved the tabling of 14 CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) reports in the first session of the Delhi assembly.

“The cabinet considered and passed Ayushman (Bharat) Yojana which was stopped by the previous government. PM Narendra Modi implemented the scheme across the country but the AAP government in Delhi did not implement it in Delhi. So, now we will implement it in Delhi; under this, the Delhi government will provide ₹5 lakh top-up after the central government will provide ₹5 lakh. It will be implemented at the earliest after the necessary formalities are done,” Gupta said.

The CM said the Delhi government will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the central government for the insurance scheme. “We have started the proceedings. As soon as the proceedings are complete, we will bring the scheme in the public domain,” she said.

The CM said the previous regime for not tabling the CAG reports. “In the first House (session of Delhi assembly), the CAG reports will be implemented. It was also passed in the cabinet meeting today. The rest of our agenda and commitments will also be passed soon, and will present before you,” she said.

The CM said that the dates for the first session of the assembly have been proposed. “The details will be shared as soon as the details are finalised,” she said.

The cabinet also discussed the plan to provide ₹2,500 monthly allowance to women of Delhi. “A discussion was also held on the ₹2,500 monthly allowance scheme. Many things have to be worked out for it, such as finalising the categories of beneficiaries. More discussions are required. We will finalise it in the next meeting,” the CM said.

However, former Delhi CM Atishi hit out at the new regime for failing to pass the ₹2,500 monthly allowance scheme.

“The BJP had promised to the women of Delhi that in the first cabinet meeting, the scheme to provide ₹2,500 monthly allowances to women will be passed. The women were waiting that the promise that BJP and PM Narendra Modi made would be kept. I am sad that the BJP started breaking its promise from the first day of the formation of the government,” Atishi said.