Barely two days after Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha launched the CM Jan Arogya Yojana (CM-JAY), the police booked a person for issuing beneficiary cards under the scheme without proper authorisation at an Agartala club on Saturday. Officials said the accused, identified as Babul Roy Chowdhury, also illegally collected Rs 250 per person for printing the cards. Binoy Bhushan Das, an officer on special duty (OSD) for Tripura Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCL), said, “We received a complaint that they were issuing PM-JAY or CM-JAY cards and beneficiaries were being charged Rs 250 per card. We had planned to issue these cards free of cost. This work has not been handed over to any community service centre (CSC) till now. When CSCs do start issuing the cards, they can charge a government-approved rate of Rs 30 for every card.” “The accused was involved in issuing government cards earlier and knew which website CM-JAY cards could be issued from. But he was doing the work illegally here. “We are going to provide these cards for free in every ward in urban areas. In gram panchayat areas, Block Development Officers (BDO) are preparing schedules for doing the same. Community Health Officers would be in charge of this job there. People should not be confused. The CM has launched this massive scheme, getting cards will not be a problem,” Das added. Meanwhile, the authorities asked the club to ensure that each ‘beneficiary’ got their money back. Ashim Deb, secretary of the club, said, “I wanted people in our area to get the health insurance scheme card launched by the CM. Babul Roy Chowdhury had earlier worked here during Sushasan 1 and 2 campaigns. So, we contacted him. Our sole intention was to help local people in getting the cards. I didn’t know if any money was needed for issuing these cards. Chowdhury said Rs 250 was needed per card. He took the money for printing smart cards. I came to know later that these cards are issued free of cost. I decided to return the money to all beneficiaries who enrolled at the camp here. In the meantime, the police and administrative officials arrived and suspended our camp.” A local said, “We came for the Ayushman card. We were told to deposit Rs 250 per card.” The CM-JAY is modelled after the PM Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) and provides a health insurance benefit of Rs 5 lakh per beneficiary family every year. Out of an estimated 9.75 lakh families in the state, 5.12 lakh families are covered under the PM-JAY. The CM-JAY has been launched for the remaining over four lakh families not enlisted under the national scheme.
