A Delhi High Court judgment requesting that the Delhi government sign a Memorandum of Understanding to carry out the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) scheme has been halted by the Supreme Court. After hearing a petition from the Delhi government contesting the High Court ruling, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih also sent letters to the Center, AIIMS, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
To guarantee that the central plan was carried out in the nation's capital, the High Court requested last month that the federal and state administrations sign a Memorandum of Understanding by January 5.Declaring that the city receives "superior benefits" from state government programs, the AAP government has been fighting the central plan in Delhi.
As the city prepares for the important elections to select its next government, the issue might intensify the political attacks between the BJP and AAP.
Senior counsel AM Singhvi, speaking on behalf of the Delhi government, contended in the highest court today that the High Court had reinterpreted the federal government's health-related authority by compelling them to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Center.
The Delhi administration was requested by the High Court to carry out the complete plan in order to guarantee that the citizens would not be denied access to the resources and amenities. According to the bench headed by Justice Pratibha M. Singh, it would not be justifiable for Delhi to not adopt the ABHIM Scheme as 33 States and UTs have already done so.
Despite the Model Code of Conduct being in effect for the elections on February 5, the court had approved the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding.
The Delhi administration had argued in the High Court against the PM-ABHIM project, claiming that the city already had a "far more robust program" in the form of the Delhi Arogya Kosh (DAK) scheme. It had maintained that the DAK system had a wider scope, whereas the central scheme restricts the advantages to just 12–15% of the city's population.
In an affidavit earlier this week, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj informed the court that the city's health benefits would be degraded if the central system were implemented.
After seven BJP MPs filed a petition to have the plan implemented in Delhi—a move the AAP claimed was "politically motivated"—the case made its way to the High Court.
"The petitioners are political individuals who are members of Delhi's main opposition party. Even though they only managed to secure 10% of the seats in the most recent legislative assembly election, the aforementioned political party has been attempting to force its will on Delhi," the document stated.
The AAP was criticized by the BJP for opposing the central plan, claiming that it put "dirty politics" ahead of the general welfare. The head of the party's Delhi chapter claimed that the AAP is just interested in corruption and does not care about the health of the populace.
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