Delhi LG: Claims that Farishtey scheme halted misleading

The development comes days after the Supreme Court sought the response of the LG on an AAP petition to operationalise the scheme

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.

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. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

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.

“In fact, I am informed that the total number of beneficiaries under the Farishtey Scheme during FY 2022-23 was 3698 and the same stands at 3604 in 07 months, till October 31 during FY 2023-24. The payments done to private hospitals for the same in FY 2022-23 stood at Rs. 4,85,46,973 and the same till October this year stands at Rs. 3,54,35,230. These figures, prima facie neither indicate a ‘halt’ in the Scheme, nor do they support allegations of non-payment”, made by the minister and endorsed by the CM, in fact they belie the claims,” the LG said.

“Any attempt at attributing the failures of schemes, etc. under such departments that are ‘transferred’, to anybody else, to say the least, the Lt. Governor, is nothing but a premeditated exercise of hubris, aimed at shirking responsibilities and blaming others for your own failure,” Saxena added.

The LG also noted that health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj in October had alleged that senior officials conspired to stop the scheme, and wrote to Kejriwal seeking disciplinary action against two senior officials.

“It appears that, what is being played out is nothing but that characteristic game of disowning one’s own failures, ineptness and inefficiency and creating a public perception that one is not being allowed to work,” Saxena said, adding that since the matter is now sub-judice, it would not be proper for him to issue any direction in the issue at this stage.

In response to Saxena’s letter, Bharadwaj claimed that the LG was “misinformed” by his officers. “LG has been misinformed that a payment of ₹3.54 crore has been made till October this year, however, the truth is that only ₹2.08 crore has been paid. The health department in its reply to Delhi assembly has also informed that there is a pendency of ₹8 crore for the Farishtey Scheme. In order to ensure that Farishtey scheme is fully operational and utilised in its full capacity, I held multiple meetings with the Secretary Health, DGHS (directorate general of health services) and other related officers of Health Department. However, in spite of verbal directions in the meetings, there was no visible change in the situation,” the minister said.

“I am again requesting the LG to ensure strict action is taken against the errant officers and necessary steps are taken to make payment so that the scheme does not collapse,” Bharadwaj said.