In what could be called a classic case of the State Government’s dilly-dallying work culture towards the Centre’s flagship schemes meant for poor people, more than 20 lakh Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) beneficiaries holding Smart Cards are devoid of services and benefits under the scheme since September 2015. The State Government has finally taken a step forward to solve the issue recently but it appears to be too late and little to make the benefits of the scheme reach the needy.
The RSBY, which was run by the Ministry of labour and Employment earlier, was transferred to the Department of Health and Family Welfare on January 6. The State Cabinet decided to transfer the ‘Jharkhand State labour Welfare Society’ meant for execution of the RSBY to the Health Department. However, the decision was taken about three months after the health institutions and facilities across the State started denying admission of beneficiaries and delivering service to them. After September 30, 2015, the RSBY cards became futile as they were not entertained by the service providers.
Although the Union Government announced the transfer of the scheme from labour and Employment to Health department way back in April 2015, the State Government could not make a move for eight months and formally shifted the scheme to the Health Department on January 6, 2016.
However, even the Health Department seems to finding it a completely new endeavour and the real work on the scheme may still get delayed. “The proposal has been recently passed by the State Cabinet but has not reached me. It takes about a month to come it in the process. Once it reaches us we will start working on the scheme as soon as possible,” said Health Minister Ramchandra Chandravanshi.
According to a professional working in the field, it may take another six months to start RSBY in Jharkhand afresh. A civil society member requesting anonymity said, “First, it took time for transition from labour to Health Department and now it will take some more time for the health department to really execute the scheme. Health department has to first understand the scheme and plan its execution accordingly.”
“Meanwhile, people’s engagement with RSBY has increased manifolds in the last 4-5 years. Today there are more than 20 lakh beneficiaries in the State and they are aware of their rights. By the time the scheme is restarted the renewal of the policies will also be due. So, it is a complete waste of over `6 crore paid by the beneficiaries at the rate of `30 per card. Also, it will shake the confidence of poor people who have been already skeptical about spending any amount on the scheme,” he added.
Principal Secretary of Health Department, K Vidyasagar could not be reached for details on the ongoing work on RSBY. “Yes we have started working on it since scheme got transferred to health department,” he texted to sum up the Department’s version.
launched in 2008, RSBY is Union Government’s flagship scheme primarily meant for poor workers of unorganized sector in the country. The objective of the scheme is to provide health insurance coverage for Below Poverty line (BPl) families. The objective of RSBY is to provide protection to BPl households from financial liabilities arising out of health shocks that involve hospitalization.