In a major decision to do away with a legacy of the Congress government, the BJP-led state government renamed the Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayi Arogya Yojana (RGJAY) scheme on Tuesday as Mahatma Jyotiba Phu
In a major decision to do away with a legacy of the Congress government, the BJP-led state government renamed the Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayi Arogya Yojana (RGJAY) scheme on Tuesday as Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jeevandayeeni Yojana and added additional features to it. Among other changes, the new scheme will ensure that farmers from 14 drought-hit districts who are distressed during poor monsoon are provided all medical help free of cost.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted on Tuesday saying the new scheme has unique features that will aid ashramshalas, orphanages, old age homes, journalists and the farmers from 14 distressed districts.
“The Maharashtra Cabinet has decided to implement Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jeevandayeeni Yojana in the entire state with some unique features. Ashramshalas, orphanages, old age homes and journalists are also now included in this scheme along with farmers from 14 distressed districts. Benefits under this scheme increased from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh and from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh in case of kidney transplantation. 971 ailments were covered in the old scheme; now this number got increased to 1,100 including old age issues, hip and knee replacement, sickle cell, anaemia etc,” the CM said.
Six months ago, the government had decided to extend medical help to farmers in drought-hit regions through this scheme. The farmer families will be able to avail all health benefits for free at hospitals at the district level, even at those having fewer than 20 beds. The families from the 14 drought-hit districts of Marathwada, Amravati and Wardha regions will get all facilities, including those related to surgery and cardiac, for free, health minister Deepak Sawant said.
The new scheme will be implemented after October 2016, when the ongoing RGJAY scheme will expire. “The new scheme is to mark 125th death anniversary of social reformer Mahatma Phule. This has covered more ailments and also increased the insurance cover,” Mr Sawant said.
Meanwhile, former health minister and Congress leader Suresh Shetty welcomed the improvements in the scheme but questioned the need to change its name. “It is good the scheme is getting improved and more surgeries are added to it, benefiting more people. But what was the need to change the name ” said Mr Shetty, who had initiated the scheme during the Congress-NCP regime.
