Scam of Rs 16 crore in PM Jan Arogya Yojana
Ahmedabad: Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), commonly known as Ayushman Bharat Yojana, aims to provide free healthcare to the poor and needy people. But now this scheme has become a victim of a scam, in which the lives of many people have been played with. A big health scam has come to light in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in which people were operated on by making fake Ayushman cards. Due to this scam, two people died and the lives of seven people were also in danger.
How did this scam happen?
The Crime Branch of Ahmedabad Police has arrested 8 people of a gang, who used to make Ayushman card of anyone in 15 minutes by taking Rs 1500. This gang included hospital owners, doctors and vendors authorized to make Ayushman cards. This gang used to organize health checkup camps of people and admit them to the hospital by claiming them to be victims of fake diseases. After this, if the patient had an Ayushman card, he was immediately admitted to the ICU and operated. If the patient did not have a card, then a card was made in the name of emergency, and then the operation was performed. After this, all the bills were sent to the government and the money was withdrawn.
How big a scam was it?
Till now this gang has made about 3000 Ayushman cards and through this has withdrawn Rs 16 crore under the Prime Minister Jan Arogya Yojana. The investigation also revealed that the owner of Khyati Hospital, doctors of the hospital, and some agency employees were involved in this gang. After this case was exposed, the police has blacklisted Khyati Hospital and started action against the people involved in this scam.
The process of making Ayushman card was taken advantage of
Under the Ayushman scheme, the government promises to provide free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh to the poor. This scheme is for those who are registered in the Food Security Scheme or any other government scheme. Generally, the process of making Ayushman card is quite simple. If someone’s name is registered in the government scheme, then the card is created just by uploading the copy of the Aadhar card. But in this scam, the agency and the hospital owner misused the process.
How was the fraud done?
In fact, the poor should not face any problem in making Ayushman card, hence the process of applying is very simple. If someone’s name is registered under the Food Security Scheme or any scheme run for the poor, then one has to go to the Ayushman portal and upload only a copy of the Aadhaar card. If the data matches, the Ayushman card is generated immediately. But if someone’s data does not match or his name is not registered in any scheme, then such people have to go to the Ayushman Card Center for verification of their documents.
The government has given the work of document verification to private agencies. This work in Gujarat is done by Enser Communication Pvt. Ltd. The owner of Khyati Hospital had colluded with this agency. After recruiting those who did not have Ayushman card, their documents were first sent to this agency. After this, Ayushman card would be ready within 15 minutes. Not only this, the people for whom Ayushman card was made would be physically healthy. After this the operation was done under the Ayushman scheme. Joint Commissioner of Crime Branch Sharad Singhla said that to know the truth of the story of the accused, when he asked them to make their Ayushman card, the accused made the Ayushman card of the Joint Commissioner and gave it to him in 15 minutes.
How was this scam exposed in Gujarat?
This matter came to light in the investigation of Gujarat Police and Health Department. Ahmedabad Joint Commissioner Sharad Singhla contacted the accused to get their Ayushman cards made and the cards were prepared for them in 15 minutes. After this incident, the police intensified action against this gang. Apart from this, Ayushman card manufacturing company Enser Communication Pvt. Ltd employees had also done the work of making cards under corruption.
What happened in the hospital?
Khyati Hospital had organized several health checkup camps, some of which were organized in Borisana village of Mehsana. In these camps, doctors told people that they had heart problems and needed angioplasty. Subsequently, seven patients were operated and two of them died after the operation. The matter came to light when the family members of the patients created an uproar over the incident.
Flaws in the system and need for improvement
After the revelation of this scam, the Central Government updated the portal of Ayushman Yojana and ensured that such cases can be prevented in future. Apart from this, all the hospitals in Gujarat are being audited and the license of two hospitals has been suspended. This scam has once again proved that corrupt people can take advantage of any scheme and play with the lives of common people through it.
Allegations of the relatives of the patients
The relatives of the patients said that the hospital performed the operation without any permission and also charged extra money from them for it. The son of a patient told that his father’s operation was done without his consent and Rs 14,000 was charged separately. During this entire matter, the medical administration of the hospital was contacted, but they refused to respond and said that they would only talk to the police during the investigation.
need to improve the plan
This scam proves that the Ayushman scheme had a noble intention, but it was badly damaged by corruption and greed. The government should keep a close watch on such cases, so that the poor can truly get the medical facilities they need. If anyone faces any irregularities in this scheme or sees any misuse of the scheme, then they should inform the government.
