Mumbai: In a faux pas, BJP promotes 2006 scheme for BPL families as saffron party’s

In south central Mumbai, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician has been promoting a state government scheme from 2006, which provides treatment to Below Poverty Line (BPL) individuals for free or discounted rates at charitable trust hospitals, as his party's initiative for all residents in the area through small blackboards.

These signs have been set up at around 15 locations.

Vasantrao Jadhav, BJP's state executive committee member and former vice-president of the party's city unit, however, claimed that in November, large hoardings had been put outside some of the major private hospitals in the area that had all details with complete transparency. However, mid-day could only access the digital copy of that hoarding as it had been taken down by the BMC in November itself. "We started using small blackboards that can only accommodate a few details. So, we decided to only talk of free treatment available and provided the names of a few major hospitals," Jadhav claimed.

The names of the hospital mentioned on the board are: Hinduja, Raheja, Dhanvantari, Somaiya Hospital, Sushil Ben Mehta, Seth RV Ayurved, Sushrut, Surana, Inlaks, Tarachand Bappa, Wadia, Bacchu Ali, Jain Centre Dadar, Manav Seva Centre and Lions Club of East Mumbai.

However, his earlier hoarding included a picture of the leader alongside pictures of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, J P Nadda, Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis, and Ajit Pawar. There were also pictures of local party workers with their contact numbers in case citizens wished to reach out for help.

What prompted promotion?

Asked if he was doing this as elections were around the corner, Jadhav denied it and said he had been helping people avail themselves of this scheme for a while now. "But hospitals were not always cooperative. I looked into the rules carefully this time and only then decided to advertise it," he said.

According to the Bombay Public Trusts (BPT) Act, 1950, charitable trusts operating hospitals, nursing homes or maternity homes are required to contribute two per cent of their income to the Indigent Patient Fund (IPF). This constitutes a quid-pro-quo arrangement, wherein medical institutions run by these trusts offer free or subsidised treatment to BPL patients in return for substantial government subsidies on land, taxes, electricity and building regulations.

Ten per cent of charitable hospitals' total operational beds are for indigent patients with free treatment. An additional 10 per cent of total operational beds at such hospitals are at concessional rates for other economically weaker sections.

However, hospitals take all possible steps to ensure that as few people as possible receive the benefits of this. "Patients are tossed around the public relations department of the hospital. They are quizzed and questioned at a time of an emergency and hospitals either do not provide free treatment or do not provide subsidies proportionate to the income. In the worst case, they simply deny both," he said.

In reality, the scheme can be availed of by producing any one of these documents: a certificate from tehsildar or a ration/BPL card.

Terrible experiences

The experience that Jadhav talks about is not uncommon. Since November, 150 people have approached him for help. He has been able to intervene in about 40 cases to twist hospitals' arms into considering them for the scheme.

Eighteen-year-old Ganga's ('name changed) mother has been in Raheja hospital due to kidney problems since November. "Convincing any of these private hospitals that you are eligible for the scheme is very difficult. Before admitting my mother, I had started doing rounds of political party offices for help but none of them agreed," she said.

At Raheja hospital, she was told that she could not avail the benefits of the scheme despite producing all the documents because she had Mediclaim insurance, too. "I stepped out of the hospital after this conversation and it was just by luck that I ran into Jadhav sir as the hoarding there was being installed," she said. He accompanied her to the hospital and produced the rules under the law for free or subsidised treatment. Now, Ganga said, the hospital has not asked for a single rupee so far.

Dinesh More's father had to be admitted to PD Hinduja hospital but the institution kept asking him to pay a hefty deposit amount. He had rushed his father to the hospital in an emergency. "I told them I would pay but they would not listen. I also told them I had applied for the scheme and it should be sanctioned shortly but they would not cooperate," he said.

Long-drawn process

The application under this scheme is a long-drawn process, which can sometimes even take a month for approval. "Without support from a political person, no common man who is eligible for this scheme can avail of the benefit. At times, hospitals' PR department asks such questions that one feels like they are quizzed by the CBI. I was also told that my ration card is outdated by them even as it was still in use," More said.

He was asked in the hospital why he admitted his father there if he could not afford it. "The treatment cost was quoted as Rs 1.85 lakh to Rs 1.95 lakh, and once the politician intervened and got me approved, I had to pay Rs 70,000. That was coincidentally the deposit I was asked to pay, and it came down to Rs 30,000 as a result of being eligible," More said. His father was later diagnosed with malaria and discharged in seven days.

At Bhatia hospital, Umesh Gupta said the hospital would just not proceed before he paid 50 per cent of the treatment amount - R2 lakh. This was in late November; his father was discharged from the hospital after December 20. "We had produced all the income proof. They kept insisting that they could only provide treatment at less than 50 per cent of the cost," he said. His final bill was R7 lakh, but he had to pay only R1 lakh eventually. "All because a politician was involved," he said, adding that he suspects the hospital kept him on a ventilator when it was not needed.

"They refused to even provide us with our test reports and other medical reports while he was admitted so we could not even take a second opinion," he said. Even after being discharged, his father, who had broken a bone in his lower back, struggles to speak. Meanwhile, all patients said there was a lack of awareness about this scheme, even within hospitals. "Information about this scheme within the hospital is pasted on a paper but in such small font that not many would even think of reading it," Jadhav said.

This was confirmed by all the patients.

mid-day reached out to all hospitals concerned but did not receive a response from any.

15
No. of spots where boards are set up

150
No. of people who approached Jadhav since November

Places where blackboards were placed

Near Dadar police station on Veer Savarkar Road, opposite Shivaji Park, and Chaityabhoomi; near the Portuguese church in Dadar; at TH Kataria Marg in Mahim opposite Ganga Vihar restaurant; near Yashwant Natya Mandir in Matunga; at Satyawadi in Prabhadevi, near a crematorium; on MTNL Lane in Dadar; and at Shaitan Chowkie near Dadar police station.