After BJP alleges scam in healthcare scheme, govt cancels tender

Bengaluru: Within hours of the BJP alleging a Rs 400-crore scam in the issue of health cards in Karnataka, the health department cancelled the tenders for their issue under Arogya Bhagya, set to be rolled out on November 1.

Under Arogya Bhagya or Universal Health scheme citizens will get free medical care or at subsidized rates. On Tuesday, leader of opposition in the legislative assembly Jagadish Shettar said that under the health department-proposed scheme health cards were being issued to about 6 crore people in Karnataka, which, in fact, was redundant and unnecessary, and in the process, the government was spending about Rs 400 crore towards printing the cards.

Reacting swiftly to Shettar’s allegations, the state government said it has “called off” of the tenders for health cards. Principal secretary Shalini Rajneesh said the department had conceived the idea of issuing smart cards, but has now decided to drop it. Citing the tenders as a mistake, she said the department would now base citizen identity on Aadhaar cards for availing benefits under the scheme.

Earlier in the day, Shettar claimed that the health department was collating data while issuing the health cards, which were similar to what was submitted by people when they enrolled for Aadhaar.

“Each of these cards has the same details which are already available with the state government. The government, despite the available data, is now printing these cards for Rs 30 each which is to be paid by citizens. Where is the need for such an identity card?” he questioned.

Caste details for health care benefits?

In a rather bizarre requirement for subscribing to the universal health care system, the state government is allegedly asking for caste of everyone who wishes to receive the scheme benefits.

Leader of opposition in the legislative assembly Jagadish Shettar on Tuesday said that in addition to details such as name, age, phone number, address and email ID, already given by citizens while enrolling for Aadhaar, the government was asking applicants to mention their caste.

“What’s the need to have people disclose their caste for receiving a universal health care? I fail to understand the logic behind seeking this information,” said Shettar.

Principal secretary for health Shalini Rajneesh, however, said never did the department seek such details and it was not true.

“We are only asking those belonging to SC and ST community to provide details. We are not looking to get any caste details of people as the scheme is applicable irrespective of caste, creed or religion,” she said.


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