Hc Irked At Heavy Medical Expenses Of Vips Abroad

The Delhi High Court has expressed deep annoyance over the huge expenditure incurred by government on the treatment of VIPs abroad under the central government health services (CGHS) scheme.

Justice C M Nayar, hearing a petition by H C Gupta alleging that genuine cases needing treatment abroad were not recommended, asked the Union health ministry to submit details of expenses incurred by government from 1991 till date in each case and posted the matter for further hearing on September 5.

The health ministry has informed the court that 37 cases were recommended for treatment abroad during 1995-97 and total expenditure incurred by the government amounted to Rs 1.38 crore, #84,674 and $53,445.

According to the affidavit filed by the health ministry, Ajit Panja, while being the minister of state for information and broadcasting was reimbursed the highest amount of Rs 47.94 lakh for treatment of acute pancreatitis in a foreign hospital. Other politicians on whom the government spent huge sums of money included former premier V P Singh, former Union ministers, C K Jaffer Sherif, Sukh Ram and Buta Singh. Of the 37 persons recommended for foreign treatment during the two-year period, there was hardly a person of lower grade.

Gupta, who is a government servant in the clerical grade, had alleged in his petition that he was refused treatment abroad despite his kidneys were damaged.

The high court also expressed its displeasure over the state of the hospitals in the capital and asked the health ministry as to file a status report on the equipment lying unused in the hospitals.

Additional solicitor general Abhisek Manu Singhvi told the court that the government has already written to UPSC in regard to recruitment of doctors to be posted at various hospitals.

Taking a serious view of the number of posts of doctors lying vacant in various hospitals, the court directed UPSC to fill within three months all vacant doctors post in Delhi based government hospitals, including 63 in Ram Manohar Lohia and Safdarjung hospitals.

The court also directed the Delhi government to file its agreement with private hospitals, to whom it has provided land at a cheaper rate for treatment of government servants at a concessional rate.

The court asked the city government as to what steps it had taken to ensure that these private hospitals were honouring the agreement.

On the submission of the counsel for the city government, Arvind Nigam, that the Delhi administration has an agreement with the Indraprastha Appollo hospital here, the court issued notice to the private hospital seeking reply as to how it has complied with the agreement.