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News Desk: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced temporary card to ensure free 5 lakh cashless treatment for those who are yet to get the Swasthya Sathi biometric card.
At a public rally in Hooghly’s Pursura she said “We are going to give Swasthya Sathi cards to all residents of the state… Those yet to get the card within this short window will be given a temporary card, which will be converted into smart cards soon. Temporary cards will ensure free treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh for the family of a beneficiary”
She added “We are not able to print more than 1.5 lakh biometric cards even by deploying the maximum possible number of machines… Those who didn’t get the card within the short time frame should know that the process will continue even after elections dates are declared”
A senior bureaucrat said “The BJP is trying to play politics saying the state would not give cards to all as issuing cards to the beneficiaries was taking some time…The chief minister made it clear that people should not be confused by the BJP’s campaign while announcing that every applicant would get a temporary card”
“The scheme earlier covered 7.5 crore people and once the rest 2.5 crore people were added into the list of beneficiaries, it was found that it would be tough to print more than 1.25 lakh cards a day even if we hire all agencies working in the field. Right now, we are printing about 1 lakh cards a day and will try to increase it to 1.25 lakh soon,” said an official.
A government report says the state brought in 76.26 lakh people under the scheme since December 1 when Duare Sarkar was launched. By May, all beneficiaries will get cards, an official said.
An official said “In all likelihood, election dates will be declared by mid-February. The government is trying to issue temporary cards to all applicants under the scheme with cards to the maximum number of people ahead of polls”
