New Delhi, Dec 26 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched the Ayushman Bharat Health Scheme for 21 lakh families of Jammu & Kashmir. Under this scheme, all families in J&K will be able to receive free treatment up to Rs five lakh annually. The people of J&K will be able to take advantage of the scheme not only in the state but in the whole country. Launching the scheme through virtual medium, Prime Minister Modi said, "Today the Jammu & Kashmir Ayushman Bharat Health Scheme has been started. It will bring much ease in the lives of the people who will get free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. Now the benefit of Ayushman Bharat scheme. Till now about 6 lakh families of the state were getting benefit of this scheme. But now all the 21 lakh families will get the same benefit." "There will be another benefit of this scheme which needs to be mentioned again and again. Your treatment will not be limited to government and private hospitals of Jammu & Kashmir only. But thousands of hospitals which are connected under this scheme in the country you will get this facility there too," Modi said. Describing this day as historic, Modi said that from today all people of Jammu & Kashmir are going to get the benefit of Ayushman Bharat Health Scheme. "This in itself is a big step. And I am very happy to see Jammu & Kashmir taking these steps for the development of its people," he said. Modi appreciated the public participation in the recent district development council elections. He said, "On the face of every voter in Jammu & Kashmir, I saw an expectation for development. In the eyes of every voter in J&K, I saw the hope of a better future, leaving behind the past. I also congratulate the people of Jammu and Kashmir for strengthening democracy." Modi described the election of the District Development Councils as a new chapter. "I was watching in every phase of the elections how young people, elderly, women were arriving at the poll booths, despite coronavirus, despite so much cold," he said. The Prime Minister while addressing the people of Jammu & Kashmir, said, "You will be surprised, this order was given by the Supreme Court in 2018. But the then J&K government was continuously avoiding the matter. After decades in Puducherry local body polls took place in the year 2006." Modi informed the people of J&K about the efforts to extend the benefits of government schemes. He said that during the Covid-19 pandemic, about 18 lakh cylinders were refilled in J&K. Over 10 lakh toilets were built in J&K under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. But its purpose is not limited to just building toilets, but is also an attempt to improve people's health. /IANS