look news india
The “Farishte Scheme” run by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of Delhi has proved to be life-saving for accident victims. Under this scheme, any road accident victim is provided free treatment in private hospitals in Delhi. The entire expense of the scheme is borne by the Delhi government. However, in recent times, political and administrative tussle regarding this scheme has increased.
Fund ban on Farishte scheme
The Delhi government has alleged that at the behest of the Lieutenant Governor (LG), the Finance Department withheld an amount of ₹29 crore allocated for the “Farishte Scheme”. Due to lack of funds, private hospitals refused to provide free treatment to accident victims. AAP claimed that the Lieutenant Governor was apprised of the issue several times, but he did not take any action against the officials who were trying to disrupt the plan.
The scheme started again with the help of Supreme Court
According to AAP, the Delhi Health Minister approached the Supreme Court against the LG’s decision. Supreme Court issued notice to LG in this matter. After this, an amount of ₹29 crore was immediately released to the Health Department, due to which the scheme could be restarted.
Accusations of conspiracy against LG
The Aam Aadmi Party made serious allegations against the Lieutenant Governor, saying that he deliberately supported the officials to disrupt the “Farishte Scheme”. AAP says that LG gave wrong information to the Supreme Court and tried to mislead the court proceedings. The party also alleges that the LG ignored the letters written by then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Impact on financial year figures and plans
Under Farishte Scheme:
- ₹9.4 crore was paid in the financial year 2020-21.
- ₹9.5 crore was paid in 2021-22.
- In 2023-24, till January 8, only ₹17 lakh was paid.
AAP has called it a conspiracy to end the scheme. The party says the scheme was created to protect the lives of accident victims, and deactivating it is an irresponsible move.