Insurance scheme to handle requests of aid from CM Relief Fund

The Chief Ministers Relief Fund (CMRF) in Maharashtra, which is under President's rule, will be operated through a state-run health insurance scheme to ensure continuous financial support for medical treatment of patients from the economically weaker section.

Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta is planning to entrust the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) with the task of screening requests for financial aid under the fund received from poor patients and its subsequent disbursal, officials said on Wednesday.

This arrangement is likely to be in place till a new government is formed in Maharashtra, which came under President's rule on November 12.

The functioning of the CMRF was suspended after the Maharashtra assembly poll schedule was announced in late September. The chief minister has discretionary powers to disperse money from the fund to needy people.

"The functioning of the office was suspended after the code of conduct for the Maharashtra assembly election came into effect.

"But the CMRF caters to noble causes, the state has decided to hand it over to the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, a scheme of the state that provides affordable medicare to people from the economically weaker section," said a senior officer in the bureaucracy.

"It will ensure smooth flow of funds to needy people. The MJPJAY office in Worli will screen applications and submit them to the governor for final approval before starting disbursements," he said.

The Mantralaya, the state secretariat housing the CM office, has seen visits by several people seeking financial assistance for medical and other causes.

"We are planning to set up a couple of help desks in Mantralaya as well as in the Worli office of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana in the next couple of days (to handle requests for help from CMRF).

"People seeking financial assistance will have to wait for a couple of days," said the official.