West Bengal government employees and pensioners enrolled under the West Bengal Health Scheme must surrender any Swasthya Sathi or Ayushman Bharat cards held by them or their beneficiaries by October 31, according to a government notification reported by The Indian Express.
The directive requires affected employees and pensioners to submit a formal declaration in the prescribed format, along with proof or an acknowledgement of surrender. Employees must submit the documents to their respective heads of office, while pensioners must provide them to the office where they submit their claims under the West Bengal Health Scheme.
The government said the action followed information that some employees and pensioners, including members of the All India Services, were using the state-run health scheme alongside Swasthya Sathi and Ayushman Bharat benefits. The notification specifically refers to cards held by the beneficiaries themselves as well as cards held for their dependants.
The order directs heads of offices, drawing and disbursing officers and pension sanctioning authorities to receive the declarations, verify the surrender documents and maintain a compliance log. This places responsibility on individual departments and pension-related offices to track compliance rather than merely circulate the directive.
Under the notification, failure to comply within the prescribed deadline will lead to the temporary suspension of medical facilities and benefits available under the West Bengal Health Scheme. For serving employees, the government has additionally classified non-compliance as misconduct.
The notification states that disciplinary proceedings will be initiated immediately against employees who do not follow the direction, under the applicable service rules. The order therefore links continued access to the state health scheme with the surrender and verification of cards issued under the other two programmes.
The directive covers both current and former holders of Swasthya Sathi and Ayushman Bharat cards among employees, pensioners and their beneficiaries. It does not indicate in the reported notification how many people are affected or how many overlapping cards have been identified.
The compliance process will depend on employees and pensioners obtaining proof of surrender and submitting it to the relevant administrative authority before the October 31 deadline. Offices receiving the documents have been instructed to verify the proof and maintain records of compliance.
