The Delhi government is looking at a proposal to raise the income limit for families in the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) to qualify for free treatment in private hospitals.
Delhi Govt proposed plan to increase income limit from ₹2.2 lakh to ₹5 lakh
The proposal suggest increasing the income limit from the current ₹2.2 lakh to ₹5 lakh per year. Sameer Vashisth informed a bench of justices Prathiba M Singh and Manmeet PS Arora that a special committee set up to review the proposal. He asked the court for more time to make a decision on the matter.
The court scheduled the next hearing for December 17 regarding a petition. It previously acknowledged concerning the shortage of ICU beds in Delhi government hospitals.
EWS families get free hospital treatment after approval
“Mr. Sameer Vashisht says that the proposal is pending approval with the GNCTD. Considering this, list it for December 17,” the bench stated in its order.
On August 29, the court decided to look into the issue of changing the income threshold after advocate Ashok Agarwal. However, Agarwal presented this suggestion during the case of a 12-year-old child who was facing high medical bills at a private hospital and struggled to get support from government hospitals.
He mentioned a previous judgment from March 2024 by the high court that instructed the Delhi government to raise the income limit for EWS reservation in school admissions from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh per year. He also highlighted that many private hospitals not provide medical services to EWS patients.
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