Bareilly: Taking a stern view of the sluggish progress in the ongoing Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) card generation campaign, District Magistrate Avinash Singh has directed the suspension of salaries of inactive operators and officials found responsible for poor performance.
During a recent review of the special Ayushman Card creation campaign in Bareilly district, the District Magistrate observed that the progress over the past 15 days had fallen well below expectations, with only a limited number of cards being generated on a daily basis.
Expressing concern over the slow pace of work, the DM ordered the immediate withholding of salaries of the BCPMs (Block Community Process Managers) and BPMs (Block Programme Managers) from the five lowest-performing development blocks until further orders. He also directed all operators engaged in the campaign to generate a minimum of 10 Ayushman Cards per day to accelerate progress and ensure that eligible beneficiaries receive the benefits of the scheme within the stipulated timeframe.
Despite these instructions, a follow-up review revealed no significant improvement. An assessment of the last three days found that 420 Panchayat Assistants and 341 Health Department operators had not generated a single Ayushman Card using their operator IDs. Officials identified among the inactive operators included Rajendra Kumar, Samar Ubaid, Iran Naz, Vishal Kumar, Fazil Khan, Parmanand, and Pooja Devi, among others.
Taking serious note of the lapse, the District Magistrate ordered that the salaries of all operators who failed to generate even one Ayushman Card for three consecutive days be withheld with immediate effect until further orders. He also directed authorities to seek explanations from the concerned personnel. Failure to provide satisfactory responses or improve performance may lead to disciplinary action under relevant service rules.
A special district-wide campaign for Ayushman Card generation is currently underway from May 15 to August 14, 2026. The DM instructed all concerned departments and officials—including the District Supply Officer, Deputy Labour Commissioner, Medical Officers In-Charge (MOICs), BCPMs, BPMs, Health Department operators, Panchayat Assistants, ASHA workers, ANMs, Anganwadi workers, and Ayushman Mitras—to work in close coordination to ensure that every eligible beneficiary receives an Ayushman Card.
He further announced that daily reviews at both block and operator levels would be conducted, and strict action would be taken against those showing unsatisfactory performance.
Describing Ayushman Bharat as one of the most important public welfare initiatives of the Central and State Governments, Singh expressed confidence that with dedicated efforts from all stakeholders, Bareilly would once again emerge as one of Uttar Pradesh’s leading districts in Ayushman Card generation and achieve its targets before the campaign concludes on August 14, 2026.
Reported by Akhilesh Chandra Saxena, Bareilly.
