The TDP national general secretary, Nara Lokesh, has demanded that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy immediately release the pending dues to hospitals under Aarogyasri.
Mr. Lokesh on November 14 (Tuesday) shared a letter written by the A.P. Specialty Hospitals’ Association (ASHA) to the A.P. government, which stated that medical services under the scheme would be halted from November 27 as the government failed to pay arrears of ₹1,000 crore to the Aarogyasri network hospitals for the services rendered by them under the government health scheme, for the last six months.
The TDP leader said, ‘‘Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals in Mr Jagan’s own district, Kadapa, announced that medical services would not be provided under the Aarogyasri scheme, which exposed the Chief Minister’s failure.’‘
‘’The YSRCP government is playing with the lives of lakhs of poor people by not allocating funds for the Aarogyasri scheme. The dues to the network hospitals should be released immediately and steps taken to ensure that Aarogyasri services continue for the poor,’‘ he said.
‘’The people of the State witnessed a strange situation where officials sent question papers to schools on WhatsApp to conduct internal exams without arranging physical papers. Owing to the chaotic financial policies implemented in the last four and a half years, the State’s credit rating has been downgraded to triple B-plus from triple A-plus,’‘ Mr. Lokesh alleged.
