In the wake of a continuous rise in coronavirus cases, the Delhi government order came out to reserve all hospitals of Delhi for Delhiites(resident of only). Is this right to issue such orders and if yes to what extent this would be applicable? is ranked 3rd in the list of rising corona cases in the country. So keeping in mind all these situations the Delhi government has issued such an order. The reservation of beds for Delhi residents came into effect as the border of Delhi were unsealed on Monday.
The policy will apply to all illnesses, not just to novel corona disease. Documents that will be treated as valid proof of resident include- The patient’s voter ID, bank/Kisan/post-office current passbook, driving license, Income-tax return filed, or assessment order, latest water, power gas, telephone bills for that address either in the name of the patient or that of his/her immediate relation ‘like a parent’ etc. and the postal department’s post received in the patient’s name Delhi at the given address. In the justification of this order, Delhi government has said that- “At any time nearly 60-70% of the patient in Delhi hospital are from the other state and we never deny treatment to any person. But right now, the cases are increasing in Delhi and the Delhi government is working relentlessly to arrange more beds for people of the city.
But if we get more cases in such a situation, where will we accommodate the patient of Delhi?” Many opposition parties have criticized the Delhi government for this action. In a tweet in Hindi, Mayawati said, “Delhi is the capital of the country. People from all over the country come here for work. If anyone falls ill and is being denied from treatment because the person does not belong to Delhi and the Delhi government does not provide treatment, then it is very unfortunate.”
Delhi Lt.governer Anil Baijal, as the chairman of Disaster Management Authority, on Monday overruled Arvind Kejriwal government decision. Baijal impressed upon the state government that the supreme court has held several judgment that the Right to Health is an integral part of the right to life and state have no power to deny their citizens from their rights. In such a situation when already corona cases in India have reached above 2 lakhs and the death toll has Delhirisen to 7,478, it is a very wrong decision to issue such orders. It’s the only time when we need more and more medical facilities and hospitals to accelerate our recovery rate. Although these orders are not applicable to hospitals run by central government such as AIIMS, RML, etc still we need much more support from all and every form of government across the country.
