West Bengal Health Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee has alleged large-scale financial irregularities in the previous TMC government’s ‘Swasthya Sathi’ health insurance scheme, claiming that suspected corruption worth Rs 25-30 crore has been detected.
The minister said several lakh beneficiary cards were found to be fake or untraceable during a review of the scheme’s database. The irregularities came to light as the BJP-led government examined the records to identify eligible beneficiaries for coverage under the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme and the state’s Mukhyamantri Swasthya Bima Yojana.
Mukherjee further alleged that the previous government had been spending around Rs 30 crore annually on insurance premiums for beneficiaries whose identities could not be verified.
