Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The discrepancy between the state government’s target and the electoral list has put the health department in a tough spot. While the government aims to create Ayushman cards for 2.84 lakh senior citizens above 70 years in Indore, the electoral list shows only 1.30 lakh individuals in this age group.
Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, senior citizens in the country are eligible for free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. However, Indore’s health department has issued only 48,287 cards so far, placing the district in 17th position state-wide. Health officials believe achieving the target is nearly impossible due to flawed data.
“The targets have been set based on overall ID data from Bhopal, which appears inflated. We have informed the collector, who will discuss this with state officials,” said Devendra Singh Raghuvanshi, nodal officer, Ayushman Bharat Scheme. Health teams conducting door-to-door enrolment are not finding the people at their listed addresses.
Many have passed away, relocated, or are untraceable, with over 50% of addresses yielding no results. This challenge persists across urban and rural areas, further delaying the progress. Health officials claimed that the inflated target not only complicates card creation but also raises concerns about potential inaccuracies in the overall ID database.
“A reassessment of the data is needed to ensure genuine beneficiaries receive their cards,” the officials said.
