The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) health department is facing criticism for recommending a hike in dialysis treatment rates under its Urban Poor Medical Assistance Scheme. However, PMC health officials have denied claims of any misunderstanding among citizen activists. Citizen activists argue that the proposed hike could place an additional burden on the civic health budget and result in significant out-of-pocket expenses for economically weaker patients.

Vivek Velankar, president of Sajag Nagrik Manch, has issued a detailed notice to the PMC Municipal Commissioner. In it, he alleges that the newly appointed committee disregarded the recommendations of a previous expert panel and arbitrarily increased the per-session dialysis rate. He has demanded an immediate rollback of the revised rates.