Pune: PMC’s Only 4 Of 19 Hospitals Enrolled Under Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana, Activist Seeks Immediate Action

Pune: A Right to Information (RTI) reply has revealed that only four out of the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) 19 hospitals and maternity homes are currently registered under the Maharashtra Government’s Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MPJAY), a flagship health scheme that provides free hospital treatment up to ₹5 lakh to eligible citizens.

The RTI revelation has raised serious concerns about missed benefits for patients and avoidable financial burden on the civic body.

According to the information obtained, only Dr Dalvi Hospital, Sonawane Maternity Home, Rajiv Gandhi Hospital, and Kamla Nehru Hospital are registered under the scheme. The remaining 15 PMC-run facilities are not enrolled. Also, Bhangeer Hospital, which is operated on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis by the PMC, is also not registered under MPJAY.

What does the scheme provide?

Under the scheme, patients can avail cashless treatment only at hospitals that are officially registered. As a result, patients admitted to non-registered civic hospitals are unable to claim the benefit, and the cost of their treatment is borne directly by the PMC’s budget.

Civic activist Vivek Velankar, President of Sajag Nagrik Manch, has written to the Municipal Commissioner urging immediate intervention. He has demanded that all PMC hospitals and PPP-operated facilities be compelled to register under the Mahatma Phule scheme without delay. “This is not only about ensuring patients receive their rightful benefit but also about saving crores of rupees of public funds that are currently being spent unnecessarily,” he said.

Velankar has also called for a two-year audit to ensure that PPP hospitals already registered under MPJAY are not simultaneously receiving payments under PMC’s Urban Poor Scheme for the same treatments. He has urged the administration to treat the matter with urgency so that both patients and the civic exchequer are protected.

Health activist Deepak Jadhav said, "This is shameful. Not all PMC hospitals are following the norms, and especially when a state-funded scheme exists to cover treatment costs, it is unacceptable that civic hospitals are not taking steps to register. This gap impacts the lives of poor patients who depend on these facilities and increases pressure on PMC’s finances. The administration should be held accountable, and strict action should be taken against them."  

Dr Nina Madhukar Borade, as health chief of PMC, said, "The MPJAY schemes earlier were only for multi-speciality hospitals and government hospitals. A few of our hospitals were already impanelled; now we are in the process of registering 17 maternity hospitals out of 20, and the process has already begun. As per the new directives from the state, we would also impanel the schemes into 54 OPD hospitals as well. There has been no delay; we have also held a meeting in this regard. The hospital registration has started, and in a month's time it will be completed."