Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday mentioned that there was a surge in bills underneath the Swasthya Sathi scheme throughout the state in the course of the protests towards the rape-murder of a junior girl physician on the RG Kar Medical School and Hospital, in Kolkata, prompting the federal government to probe into the matter.
The state authorities will take motion towards protesting medical doctors who availed ‘Swasthya Sathi’ cash, in the course of the RG Kar protest, the chief minister mentioned in the course of the Query Hour session within the Meeting. “At the moment (in the course of the RG Kar protests), there was a surge within the expenditure underneath the Swasthya Sathi scheme. We’re conducting an enquiry. The culprits will probably be punished,” Banerjee mentioned.
Swasthya Sathi scheme is a medical health insurance programme of the state authorities for secondary and tertiary care as much as Rs 5 lakh each year per household. Reportedly, a survey has revealed that in the course of the junior medical doctors’ protests over the RG Kar rape and homicide, there was a major surge within the state’s spending on affected person remedy underneath the Swasthya Sathi scheme in personal hospitals.
Through the Meeting session on Thursday, TMC MLA Samir Jana requested whether or not the state authorities spent extra money into the ‘Swasthya Sathi’ scheme in the course of the RG Kar protest, to which the Chief Minister, who additionally holds the state well being portfolio, mentioned, “We had spent a number of cash throughout that point. We will’t say something because the RG Kar difficulty is subjudice. That point many did remedy taking cash from Swasthya Sathi. We investigated that. We at the moment are double checking who had been misusing the cash. We are going to punish those that misused folks’s cash.”
Moreover, Minister of State of Well being Chandrima Bhattacharya briefed the Meeting that the state authorities spent Rs 2,684 crore throughout 2023-24 monetary yr within the Swasthya Sathi scheme and that 21,27,249 households benfitted from the scheme. Bhattacharya underlined that the variety of households who’ve obtained assist from the scheme elevated to 80,25,876 until October 31, and that the federal government spent Rs 10,719 crore.
In the meantime, expressing concern over the web pill fraud, by which funds had been siphoned from authorities allocations meant for scholar tablets the CM mentioned that investigation is on and police are looking for the primary accused within the case.
“We’ve already arrested a number of individuals who did this. Police at the moment are looking for the kingpin of this rip-off. Nobody will probably be spared. We are going to take sturdy motion towards these culprits,” the CM mentioned. — With PTI
