Chennai, Oct 5:
The Tamil Nadu Health Department has clarified that people from other States are not eligible to avail themselves of the State government’s ‘Thai Maaman Thanga Modhiram’ scheme, even if they come to Tamil Nadu for delivery and receive treatment at government hospitals.
The clarification followed a case involving Uma Maheswari of Kazhanivasal in Karaikudi, Sivaganga district. She is married to a man from Mysuru in Karnataka and had been staying at her mother’s house in Karaikudi for the past six months for her second delivery. During this period, she underwent medical check-ups at the nearby Muthupattinam Primary Health Centre.
Uma Maheswari gave birth to a male child through a Caesarean section at the Karaikudi Government Headquarters Hospital on September 17. Subsequently, a token was issued on October 1 for providing a gold ring to her newborn under the ‘Thai Maaman Thanga Modhiram’ scheme.
However, hospital authorities could not complete the registration in the system after checking the Aadhaar card submitted by her, as it carried a Mysuru address. Consequently, the gold ring was not provided to the child under the scheme.
In its clarification, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine said the documents submitted by Uma Maheswari showed that she was a resident of Karnataka. She had come to her mother’s house in Tamil Nadu for delivery and underwent the Caesarean section at the Karaikudi Government Headquarters Hospital on September 17.
The Health Department also pointed out that she received all medical treatment free of cost at the government hospital. She was provided adequate postnatal care as well and was discharged from the hospital on September 22.
The department said that despite receiving free maternity and postnatal healthcare in Tamil Nadu, Uma Maheswari was not eligible to benefit from the ‘Thai Maaman Thanga Modhiram’ scheme as the documents established that she was a resident of another State.