The Supreme Court of India, while hearing the Delhi government’s plea regarding the ‘Farishtey Dilli Ke‘ scheme, has sought a response from Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
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The Supreme Court of India, while hearing the Delhi government’s plea regarding the ‘Farishtey Dilli Ke‘ scheme, has sought a response from Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. The scheme, aimed at providing free medical treatment to road accident victims, has been stalled due to a dispute over the disbursement of funds.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government alleges that the scheme’s funds were halted following the Centre’s new law on the control of services in the national capital. In contrast, the Lieutenant Governor contends that he is not involved in the scheme’s operations. The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta, hearing the writ petition filed by the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD), has expressed its intention to impose exemplary costs if it is found that the Health Minister misled the court.
Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Delhi government, emphasized the urgency of releasing the outstanding payments and questioned the jurisdictional aspect of the Lieutenant Governor’s involvement in the health department. On the other hand, Senior Advocate Sanjay Jain, representing the Delhi LG, argued that the issue was incorrectly portrayed as a dispute between the Lieutenant Governor and the council of ministers. He stated,
“This was not a council of ministers versus lieutenant governor issue. This scheme was governed by a society which has in a recent meeting decided to release pending funds.”
In response to the law officer’s statement that the funds have been resolved to be released, Justice Gavai instructed and said, “Then we will dispose of the petition. File an affidavit saying that you are going to release the funds. That will be the end of the matter.“
He also advised the Lieutenant Governor not to make every issue a prestige issue and said, “Ask the lieutenant governor to not make every issue a prestige issue.“
Protesting, ASG Jain alleged that the lieutenant governor was not involved in the matter. He said,
“This is what I wanted to point out. This is a society headed by the health minister. It is the health minister who conducted the meeting and released the funds. This is why I was very surprised that this was brought to this court in this manner. Petitioner has used this honourable court’s forum to agitate something. It’s a classic case of a storm in a teacup. Much ado about nothing. There is nothing in this matter.”
The ‘Farishtey’ scheme, a key welfare initiative of the AAP Government, was designed to provide free, cashless medical treatment to victims of road accidents in both government and private hospitals. However, the scheme’s inactivity for over a year, attributed to outstanding payments totaling Rs. 7.17 Crores for 42 private hospitals, has severely impacted medical assistance for accident victims.
The Delhi Government’s plea to the Supreme Court outlined the dire consequences of the scheme’s suspension, leading to loss of lives due to the absence of timely and effective treatment. The plea also highlighted the government’s restricted authority under the 2023 amendment to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, which grants the Lieutenant Governor the sole discretion to initiate action against defaulting officials.
The case, titled Government Of NCT Of Delhi v. Office Of The Lieutenant Governor Of NCT Of Delhi And Ors., Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1352 of 2023, underscores the complexities in the governance of the national capital and the challenges faced in implementing welfare schemes amidst bureaucratic and legal hurdles.