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'People Have Gone Into Debt To Secure Best Treatment For Covid-19': Madras High Court Urges Govt To Devise Policy To Address Financial Difficulties Of People
Akshita Saxena
2 Jun 2021 6:36 AM GMT
The Madras High Court on Monday urged the Tamil Nadu Government to attend to the financial needs of its citizens, who have "gone beyond means" to ensure the best treatment for their family members infected with the Covid-19 infection. "There is no doubt that every family would have gone beyond its means to ensure the best treatment for its members; but these families would have...
The Madras High Court on Monday urged the Tamil Nadu Government to attend to the financial needs of its citizens, who have "gone beyond means" to ensure the best treatment for their family members infected with the Covid-19 infection.
"There is no doubt that every family would have gone beyond its means to ensure the best treatment for its members; but these families would have been drained of their savings or may have gone into debt. This is a matter which requires the attention of the State and the data has to be gathered before any effective policy decision is taken. It is hoped that such aspect will engage the attention of the State, sooner rather than later," a Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy urged.
It opined that the financial difficulties faced by ordinary citizens, particularly those who are not able to afford expensive treatment, should be looked into by the State.
The words have fallen in a writ petition filed by one DI Nathan, urging the Court to issue directions to the State for increasing threshold of the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.
It was informed that the Scheme has been notified for the benefit of all families whose annual income is less than Rs.72,000/- per annum.
It was the Petitioner's case that this quantum is too low since even on the basis of the minimum wages payable to an unskilled worker, the annual income of a family with an unskilled worker as its bread-earner will exceed the minimum eligibility threshold.
Refusing to intervene in the "matter of policy", the Bench urged the State to consider whether the upward revision of the minimum threshold limit would be appropriate. It remarked,
"The appeal appears to be reasonable and it is hoped that the minimum threshold level would be substantially increased to allow a larger number of families to avail of the benefit under the Scheme."
Case Title: DI Nathan v. Government of Tamil Nadu & Ors.
Read Order
