The Punjab Government has appealed to the farmers of the state to submit applications till 24th July, 2020 in order to be able to derive benefit under the ‘Ayushmann Bharat Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojna’ for the year 2020-21. Every beneficiary family under the scheme would get cashless treatment upto Rs. 5 lakh.Disclosing this, the Deputy Commissioner, SAS Nagar Girish Dayalan said that all the farmers who have filled up ‘J’ forms and have the ‘Sugarcane Weighment Slip’, are eligible for deriving benefit under the scheme. They need to submit their declarations along with the other required documents to the office of concerned Market Committee or their Commission Agent (Arhtiya) by 24th July, 2020. He also added that the entire premium of the insurance of the farmers would be paid by the Punjab Mandi Board and the farming community would not have to pay any fee.Divulging more, he said that as per this health insurance scheme, the beneficiaries can avail treatment upto Rs. 5 lakh for 1396 ailments including heart operation, cancer treatment, joint replacement and the operation in accident cases at the 546 listed hospitals and 208 Government hospitals.During the year 2020-21, the 8.70 lakh ‘J’ form holder farmers and 80000 sugarcane producers of the entire state including district would get benefit entailed under the Sehat Bima Yojna whereas during the 2019-20, five lakh farmers were brought under the ambit of the scheme who were found eligible on the basis of ‘J’ forms issued in 2015 by the mandi board.He also elaborated that the mandi board has registered 8.70 lakh farmers on and after 1st January, 2020 as ‘J’ form holders for the purpose of selling their agricultural produce.
Similarly, 80000 sugarcane producers who sold their produce during the crushing season from 1st November, 2019 to 31st March, 2020, would also be eligible to avail benefits under the scheme. With the Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh giving nod to their inclusion in the scheme, all the 9.50 lakh farmers along with their families would be eligible to get benefits of the scheme w.e.f. 20 August, 2020. The Market Committees have also been directed to ensure that the benefits accrue to the farmers in a hasslefree manner.Detailing more, the DC said that the farmers desirous of availing benefits in accordance with the scheme, can get the self declaration form from the concerned Market Committee office or the firm of the commission agent (Arhtiya) or can also be downloaded from the website www.mandiboard.nic.in. After receiving the applications from the farmers, the uploading would be done on the portal specially created for the purpose in the aftermath of which the eligible farmers would be issued the ‘Sehat Bima Cards’. Under this cashless scheme, all such ailments would be covered for treatment which require hospitalization for a period of more than 24 hours or are listed under the day care treatment scheme.Giving more details, he said that apart from the head of the family in the farmers household, husband/wife, father/mother, unmarried children, divorced daughter and her minor children, widowed daughter in law along with her minor offspring would also be considered eligible for benefits under the scheme. Contact can be established at the toll free number 104 for any further info.It is noteworthy to mention that the State Government had started ‘Ayushmann Bharat Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojna’ on the 20th of August, 2019 under which the 45 lakh families were brought under the ambit of the scheme which proved very beneficial for the people of Punjab.