Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday launched the smart health cards under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana in Malkangiri, an initiative that can change the face of healthcare in the state. It’s a first of its kind service in the entire country, which will become effective from September 1.

In order to send a message that his government is with the underprivileged and the tribals, Naveen handed the first health smart health card to a Bonda tribal community member, Sukri Dhangda Majhi. Bondas are one of the oldest tribal groups of the state with around 12,000 members of the community residing in the hill pockets of the Malkangiri district.

Speaking on occasion at Malkangiri, Naveen said: “The smart health card will lessen your burden on treatment for health. The state government is spending money for your health. So money to be spent towards treatment of health could be saved and it could be utilised for the studies of children and improvement of the economic condition of the families.”

He had announced the smart health card move on Independence Day. Under the scheme, each male member of a family of an economically vulnerable section of the society is entitled to get insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh and woman of Rs 10 lakh per annum. As per the announcement about 96 lakh families covering a population of 3.5 crore people will avail the benefit of the health card.

However, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has urged the chief minister to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Odisha. The state has so far declined to accept it stating that its health scheme is better than the central scheme.

Naveen has launched the scheme at a point when the BJP has begun the Jan Ashriwad Yatra in Odisha and its ministers including railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Pradhan are touring the state.

However, the launching of Naveen’s smart health card scheme has triggered a fresh war of words in the social media between the BJP and the BJD.

In a series of tweets, the BJD’s most powerful MLA Pranb Prakash Das compared the two schemes stating that Centre’s scheme is an insurance scheme whereas the Odisha government’s scheme is an assurance scheme and its much better than the Ayushman Bharat. “There are no specific benefits for women under the central scheme. But in our scheme, there is a provision for Rs 10 lakh per annum for women members of the family enrolled under the BSKY.”

The Odisha government said the BSKY is available in more than 200 hospitals in the country including big private hospitals. Using the health card the people can get a range of benefits, including the treatment of cancer and dialysis.

Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded that all people should be included in the BSKY.