Patiala, Feb. 23 -- The Punjab health department has scrapped the mandatory requirement of an appointment slip for enrolment under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana (MMSY), which offers free cashless medical treatment of up to Rs.10 lakh to every family in the state. This change is said to have brought relief to beneficiaries as they can now directly approach common service centres (CSCs) for health card issuance. An official communication, issued by the State Health Agency - a nodal agency for the implementation of the various schemes - to the deputy commissioners, mentioned, "This is in reference to the letter number SHA/2026/1061, dated January 28, whereby issuance of appointment slips by Youth Club coordinators was a mandatory requirement for registration under the MMSY scheme. It has been decided by competent authority that there is no requirement for issuance of appointment slips for registration under the scheme. Youth club members shall continue to facilitate mobilisation activities in coordination with district authorities." Earlier, beneficiaries had to approach "Sehat Mitras" - representatives of local youth clubs - who would issue the slip required for registration. However, information regarding the designated Sehat Mitras for specific localities was not readily available. Health officials had been reportedly directing residents to contact their respective municipal councillors to trace the concerned coordinators, causing significant harassment to the beneficiaries. The correction course is said to have come after the allegations by the BJP and others claiming that "unofficial slips" were being distributed by AAP workers as a prerequisite for residents to obtain health insurance cards under the MMSY. With the condition now formally waived, health authorities have been directed to scale up the card generation. Senior health officials said the revision in the standard operating procedure (SOP) is aimed at accelerating enrolment and ensuring that eligible residents are not deprived of benefits due to procedural bottlenecks....