Kamal Ghorui
MOHALI: AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday rolled out the state government’s ambitious ‘Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna’ which will provide free cashless medical treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh to every family in the state. The universal healthcare cover will be provided to all 65 lakh families in the state. Any person who is a resident of Punjab and has an Aadhaar card and a voter card will be eligible to avail the benefits of this scheme. Over 2,500 medical procedures are covered under this scheme, including both government and some private hospitals. Addressing a gathering here after launching the scheme, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said, “Today is a historic occasion not only for Punjab but for the whole country.” In the past 75 years, several governments came, but they did not take care of people despite making tall claims, said Kejriwal. Lauding the Bhagwant Mann government for its works, Kejriwal said the period of the past four years, which has been going on, will be written in golden letters in Punjab’s history. Speaking about the scheme, Kejriwal said all 65 lakh families in the state will be covered under this scheme. He said anyone can visit any hospital where they will get cashless medical treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh. On works undertaken in the healthcare sector in the state, Kejriwal said around 1,000 ‘mohalla’ clinics have been set up in the past four years. He further said 500 more ‘mohalla’ clinics will come up in the state. Targeting the previous governments, Kejriwal said that in 75 years, merely 400 primary health centres came up in Punjab. “We set up 1,000 mohalla clinics, and 500 more will come up. Besides, 2,500 ‘pind clinics’ will be set up in each village,” he said. He claimed the AAP government in the past four years did 10 times more than what the previous government had done for the state in 75 years. Kejriwal said 1,100 doctors and specialists have been hired in the state. “Now there is no shortage of doctors in government hospitals,” he further said. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said it was a historic day for Punjab in the healthcare sector. The ‘Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna’ is the biggest health scheme since independence, he further said. On this occasion, AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Punjab ministers Aman Arora and Harpal Singh Cheema were also present.
