New Delhi, Jun 23 (PTI) The Centre has informed the Delhi High Court that the two year old boy on whose behalf a plea was moved seeking funds to treat his rare disease would be covered under the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) Scheme.

The Centre said however that the funds can be released for the boy's treatment only on an application forwarded by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) where he is a patient.

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The central government also told the court that once the AIIMS application is received, it shall be processed in accordance with the scheme and if the boy is found eligible, the funds will be released.

The submission was made before Justice Navin Chawla in response the plea moved on behalf of the toddler by his father who has sought financial help for his son's treatment.

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In view of the Centre's submission, the father told the court that he will request AIIMS to immediately process his application for funds and to forward it to the Health Ministry for release of money under the RAN scheme.

The court listed the matter on July 3.

The petition, filed in the boy's name, has stated that he suffers from the rare chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), an inherited primary immunodeficiency ailment that increases the body's susceptibility to infections caused by certain bacteria and fungi.

The boy's father has said, in the plea, that the treatment of "cord blood transplant" costs Rs 15 lakh which neither he nor his family can afford.

He said that on making a representation to the Prime Minister's Office, Rs 3 lakh was sanctioned in February but it was not sufficient.

The representation dated February 27 seeking aid from the chief minister's relief fund has gone unanswered till date, the petition has claimed.

The petition has said that the child's treatment at AIIMS has not commenced yet due to lack of funds and the next date for the transplant that has been set by the hospital is June 26.

If required funds are not received by then, the treatment would get delayed further, the petition has claimed.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)