Chandigarh, Jan 23 (PTI) A day after the Punjab government rolled out its ambitious health scheme — ‘Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna’ — ministers took charge of registration drives across the state to fast-track healthcare for all.
The scheme offers free cashless medical treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh to every family in the state. It was launched by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal.
Assembly polls in Punjab are slated for 2027.
“From towns to villages, ministers stepped out to initiate and accelerate enrolment as the scheme drew a massive public response within hours of its launch,” an official statement said.
Ministers Aman Arora, Lal Chand Kataruchak, Laljit Singh Bhullar and Hardeep Singh Mundian spearheaded the outreach, underscoring the government’s intent to translate policy into immediate on-ground delivery.
More than 820 government and private hospitals have been empanelled under the scheme, and there is no income cap to avail its benefits.
Leading the registration drive at Sunam Udham Singh Wala, Arora said, “Under this scheme, all medicines and tests costing up to Rs 10 lakh for both major and minor illnesses will be completely free. Once a patient is admitted to a hospital, the entire treatment will be cashless, and only the health card will be required.” He noted that Punjab has nearly 65 lakh families and health cards will be issued to all of these, covering close to three crore citizens.
“For the first time in the country, there is no income limit for eligibility, which sets a new national benchmark,” the minister said, adding that more hospitals will be added in the coming days.
The scheme includes more than 2,356 treatment packages, a significant increase from the earlier count of 1,600, and covers orthopaedics, general medicine, cardiology, neurology, nephrology, urology, oncology, among others, Arora said.
In Mangarh village of Sahnewal, Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian said the AAP has fulfilled its promise of providing free healthcare to the people of Punjab.
“Previous governments in the past seven decades opened only 400 Primary Health Centres, whereas the AAP dispensation has set up 1,000 Mohalla Clinics in just four years, with another 500 under construction,” he said.
He announced that 2,500 ‘Pind Clinics’ will be opened in the next four to five months to further strengthen healthcare delivery at the grassroots level.
In Pathankot, Lal Chand Kataruchak began the registration process by going door-to-door in the villages of Daro Salaam, Bhoa and Gobindsar.
He said, “Fourteen hospitals in Pathankot district have been registered under the scheme. Camps will be organised in villages to prepare health cards.” PTI SUN NSD NSD
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