The Punjab government has appealed to the farmers of the state to submit applications till July 24 for the cashless insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana Punjab for 2020-21.

Every beneficiary family under the scheme will get cashless treatment of up to ₹5 lakh.

Disclosing this, Mohali deputy commissioner (DC) Girish Dayalan said farmers who had filled up ‘J’ forms and had the ‘Sugarcane Weighment Slip’, were eligible for the scheme. They had to submit certain declarations with other documents to the office of market committee concerned or their commission agent (Arhtiya) by July 24.

The DC also added that the insurance premium would be free for the farmers and instead be paid by the Punjab Mandi Board.

Giving details, Dayalan said beneficiaries under the scheme can avail of treatment of up to ₹5lakh for 1,396 ailments, including heart surgery, cancer treatment, joint replacement and the surgery for accidents at 546 listed hospitals and 208 government hospitals.

During 2020-21, about 8.70 lakh ‘J’ form holder farmers and 80,000 sugarcane producers of the entire state including the district were expected to benefit from the scheme as compared to five lakh farmers in 2019-20.

Market committees have also been directed to ensure that farmers don’t face hurdles when claiming benefits.

The self-declaration form was available with the market committee and commission agent and could also be downloaded from the website www.mandiboard.nic.in.

Applications received from the farmers would be uploaded on the insurance scheme and those eligible would be given special insurance cards.

All ailments requiring hospitalisation for more than 24 hours or listed under the day care treatment scheme will be covered under the scheme.

Those covered in the farmer’s household will include husband/wife, father/mother, unmarried children, divorced daughter and her minor children, widowed daughter-in-law with her minor offspring.

Contact can be established at the toll free number 104 for any further information.