AAP GOVT’S CREDIBLE DECISION, ACCIDENTAL VICTIMS TO RECEIVE FREE TREATMENT IN PVT HOSPITALS

The AAP government in Delhi led by chief minister Arvind Kejrival who is usually at loggerheads with the union BJP led NDA government is taking one by one credible decisions in order to impress the Delhi electorates, particularly those hailing from the lower middle class and lowest strata of the society. After failing to establish its sufficient political ground outside Delhi except to a certain extent in Punjab Kejrival has now confined himself to Delhi and is busy concentrating on Delhi affairs in order to consolidate the party’s influence in the capital especially in view of the next assembly election drawing near. Just today the Delhi health minister has taken an extremely pro people decision announcing that the state’s cabinet has approved with unanimity that any person in Delhi meeting with vehicular accident if injured grievously or with any nature of injury would be accorded free treatment in majority of the private hospitals of Delhi and the entire expenditure of the treatment would be borne by the Delhi government.

The cabinet decision has also made a provision for giving Rs 2000 to those who help the accident victim reach the hospital in time in order to save his or her life. According to the health minister Satyendra Jain , the state government has finalised official arrangements with majority of Delhi government hospitals who will provide timely and adequate treatment to the accident victim and would ensure that their lives could be saved subsequently. The necessary charges in this respect would be borne by the state government. The approval of the state cabinet chaired by chief minister Delhi Arvind Kejrival has been sent to the Lt governor of Delhi Anil Baijal for final stamping. This pro people decision would go a long way to anticipate the full support of the Delhi electorates as it is not restricted to any particular class or section based on income disparity but is applicable unequivocally for all the victims of accidents across gender and economic considerations.

Prior to this the Delhi government has declared a scheme for free treatment/ surgery in private hospitals for those whose income is below 2 lac rupees per annum and are not being able to get operated in government hospitals due to heavy rush and paucity of time, keeping in view the severity of the ailment of critical illness and urgency for surgery. In addition it had opened Mohalla clinics in vast numbers and also made massive arrangements for free distribution of medicines to all patients irrespective of economic disparity. Just two days ago the state government has cancelled the license of the MAX hospital situated at Shalimar Bagh for its negligence in declaring a living child infant as dead and its complacent and arbitrary attitude towards the poor patients. It also had a tussle with union government as well as the lt governor of Delhi over the regularisation of the services of over 15000 adhoc and contractual teachers of Delhi whom.the government of Kejrival want to regularise and had also got the bill passed in the state assembly but is still lying postponed at the LG’s level.

Arvind Kejrival also came to the rescue of the Delhites when his party and the government outrightly rejected the union government’s arbitrary proposal to increase the metro fares manifold and offered to bear the fifty percent escalated cost to the tune of 750 crores but could not succeed and finally the Delhi metro commuters have to bear the brunt of the centre and are constrained to pay exorbitantly. Let’ s see , the nominee of the BJP led union government Delhi’s LG Anil Baijal clears the AAP government’s pro people proposal or keeps it in abeyance or withheld as is the case with the earlier proposal of regularisation of the services of 15000 contractual teachers of Delhi. The governments of the other states of the country should take cue from the Delhi AAP government and replicate this pro people decision in their states as well.As per the latest statistics of Delhi traffic police accidents in Delhi are on the rise and the Delhi police is finding out innovative techniques to counter this menace of accidents with renewed vigour and vitality.

The majority of the accident victims either die on the spot, on the way to hospitals or for want of timely and better treatment which usually is not available in government hospitals due to variety of reasons and lack of attention and this latest decison of the government of NCT of Delhi will work as a catalyst in increasing the safety of the accident victims due to timely and adequate treatment in high profile private hospitals. What’s your take on this, friends?

SUNIL NEGI, President, Uttarakhand Journalists Forum