NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday questioned why having a ration card was necessary for a citizen to avail financial benefits under the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) and sought the stand of the Centre and government on the plea by a below poverty line cancer patient to declare the mandate illegal and unconstitutional.
Justice Yashwant Varma issued notice on the petition by the 30-year-old woman whose request to AIIMS for financial aid under the scheme was rejected on account of the non-availability of a ration card and granted time to the respondents to file their reply.
The court observed that without a ration card, the petitioner would not get the benefit under RAN, which would defeat the scheme itself. RAN provides financial aid to patients, living below poverty line and who are suffering from major life-threatening diseases, to receive treatment at any government hospital. The financial aid to such patients is released in the form of a ‘one-time grant’ which is released to the hospital concerned.
The judge noted that Delhi has already reached its limit with respect to the issuance of ration cards and asked, “What happens to someone without a ration card? If you want to find out the details of the family then there are other documents. Why is ration card important?,” the court questioned. The government counsel said that its representation to the central government seeking an increase in the limit imposed on the ration cards to be issued has been rejected.