Onlykashmir.in News Desk
A woman cancer patient from the Anantnag Assembly constituency has reportedly been waiting for about a month for financial assistance for her treatment from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) of Congress MLA Peerzada Muhammad Sayed, with no communication about the assistance having reached the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Anantnag so far.
The patient, a resident of Anantnag, has been pursuing the assistance through the MLA’s personal assistant, who generally handles the legislator’s affairs. Despite repeated requests over the past month, her case has reportedly not reached the district administration for processing.
Medical documents seen by this outlet indicate that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer and has undergone treatment, including chemotherapy. The records include documents from the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) and Manipal Hospital, Dwarka, New Delhi, relating to her diagnosis and treatment.
The delay has raised concern about the time taken to process requests for financial aid from patients facing serious illness, particularly those who depend on public support to meet treatment costs.
The Jammu and Kashmir Government has amended the MLA CDF guidelines to permit financial assistance for eligible patients suffering from serious diseases, including cancer. Under the reported provisions, an MLA can allocate up to ₹20 lakh annually for medical assistance, while the maximum assistance specified for an individual cancer patient is ₹2.75 lakh, subject to eligibility criteria and prescribed conditions.
The guidelines provide for assistance to eligible patients from economically weaker sections after the applicable benefits under existing health schemes and medical assistance funds have been exhausted. Payments are to be made directly to empanelled hospitals or medical institutions in accordance with the prescribed procedure, which means a request must first be formally recommended and routed through the district administration before any amount can be released.
In the present case, the reported absence of any letter at the Deputy Commissioner’s office raises the question of whether the patient’s request has been formally forwarded for consideration. Until that happens, the process cannot move ahead, however clear the need may be.
For a person undergoing cancer treatment, every week of delay carries a real cost. Chemotherapy schedules, diagnostic tests and hospital visits bring recurring expenses, and families often exhaust savings long before treatment concludes. Uncertainty about whether promised support will arrive can add emotional strain to an already difficult journey.
The case highlights how important it is that welfare provisions framed for the benefit of patients reach them promptly. Clear communication between legislators’ offices, district administrations and applicants, and a transparent timeline for processing such requests, would go a long way in ensuring that the scheme serves its intended purpose.
