The Calcutta High Court has taken a stern view on the non-implementation of the Central Government’s flagship health scheme, Ayushman Bharat, in West Bengal. In a significant development, the court has directed the state government to file a detailed affidavit explaining why the scheme has not been rolled out in the state despite its nationwide success.

The directive came during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) where the petitioner’s counsel, representing BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya, alleged that the Mamata Banerjee-led government is stalling the project purely for political reasons. The counsel argued that while the scheme provides an annual health cover of ₹5 lakh to poor families across India, the citizens of West Bengal are being deprived of this life-saving benefit due to the Chief Minister’s long-standing opposition to central branding.

A Division Bench of the High Court observed the urgency of the matter and granted the state government a period of four weeks to submit its official stance. The court wants to know the specific reasons behind the state’s refusal to participate in the project. This legal intervention puts the state government in a tight spot, as it will now have to justify its preference for the state-run ‘Swasthya Sathi’ scheme over the central ‘Ayushman Bharat’ on record. The outcome of this case could potentially change the healthcare landscape for millions in Bengal.