New Delhi: The Arvind Kejriwal administration in Delhi has implemented a strict lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19, but its budget allocation for the pandemic stands at just Rs 50 crore, or Rs 20 for each of the capital’s 2.5 crore residents.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who holds the finance portfolio, presented the first budget of the AAP government’s second term in the assembly Monday. He said the sum of Rs 50 crore was an “initial allocation”.
“I promise that the Delhi government will ensure that there is no shortage of funds in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak for Delhi. We will do all that is required to contain and tackle the scare of the pandemic in Delhi,” he added in his address.
He also outlined an allocation of Rs 3 crore — as revised estimates in the current financial year — for quarantine facilities.
The allocation for coronavirus drew a mixed response from people involved in the medical field.
Dr Alok Lodh of HCL Healthcare, a chain of multi-speciality clinics, said the amount was less but the Delhi government needed to be given the benefit of the doubt.
“We shouldn’t jump the gun in calling the allocation measly…” said Dr Lodh, adding that coronavirus treatment didn’t require much expense unless a critical patient required ICU treatment.
“There isn’t much expenditure involved in medication… besides the facilities being provided by the government, one can even be quarantined outside hospital (at home),” he added. “If a situation, however, arises where things are even worse and resources run out, then it could be a concern.”
Another doctor at a government hospital said “the amount isn’t sufficient if this is for anything and everything”.
“Kerala announced Rs 20,000 crore to tide over the present crisis,” the doctor added.
Approached for comment, AAP spokesperson Dr Nimmi Rastogi said the government could tap other subsections under the health allocation if the fund proves short. “We have allocated a huge amount to healthcare,” she added.
The 2020-21 budget outlines an overall allocation of Rs 65,000 crore, of which Rs 7,704 crore has been set aside for health.
“The amount allocated (for COVID-19) at this point will be used for firefighting to control the spread, be it isolation, quarantine, medication, equipment, ventilators,” Rastogi said.
Sources in the Delhi government said the amount was expected to be increased, and could go up to even Rs 500 crore.
Also Read: Why you shouldn’t believe these 10 trending claims on coronavirus
MLAs sit apart
The budget session of the Delhi assembly was held Monday amid a near-complete lockdown that only exempts essential services. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the session has been reduced from five days to one, and only essential staff was allowed inside the Vidhan Sabha Monday.
The budget presentation lasted for around an hour-and-a-half, and all members maintained a distance with each other by sitting a few seats apart.
Social distancing is being touted as the key preventive measure against COVID-19, a highly infectious disease that has killed thousands worldwide and nine in India, which is why mass gatherings have been barred in Delhi and around the world.
Notable announcements in the budget included the Kejriwal administration’s decision to finally join Ayushman Bharat or the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), which facilitates healthcare insurance for the economically weaker sections.
Kejriwal had so far refrained from joining the scheme, telling the Union health minister in a letter last June that “a good health scheme is already in place in Delhi”.
“Stopping it and implementing another won’t benefit anyone. If Delhi’s health scheme is stopped and Ayushman Bharat implemented, residents will be affected,” Kejriwal had stated in the letter.
The PMJAY aims to provide an annual health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation, and seeks to benefit about 100 million poor households.
The AAP government has also promised to expand its mohalla clinics and bolster their capacity from 10,000 to 20,000 beds. An outlay of Rs 724 crore has been proposed for the construction of new hospitals.
Also Read: Veterinary services must go on, animals can’t suffer during COVID-19, Modi govt tells states