World
India
Fulfilling a key election promise, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced on Thursday that her government would implement the Ayushman Bharat healthcare scheme in the national capital. The announcement came following the first Cabinet meeting of her administration.
In a move likely to spark a political showdown, Gupta also declared that 14 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports, which the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had allegedly delayed, would now be tabled in the Delhi Assembly.
Mohalla Clinics to Be Renamed and Revamped
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders revealed on February 15 that the government is considering renaming Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics as “Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.” The Mohalla Clinics, a flagship healthcare initiative of the AAP government, had been a focal point of political debate in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections, with the BJP frequently criticizing them as dysfunctional.
A senior BJP leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated, “Mohalla Clinics have become synonymous with the AAP’s mismanagement, fake tests, and scams. We will revamp these centers and expand them into JJ clusters and unauthorized colonies to improve healthcare access.”
“These sites will be turned into Ayushman Arogya Mandirs to ensure quality healthcare for all residents. Under the AAP government, these clinics did not serve people effectively and were linked to scams,” the leader added.
BJP Keeps Its Election Promise Of Implementing Ayushman Bharat
The BJP’s manifesto, Sankalpa Patra, had pledged to transform the existing Mohalla Clinics into Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. The document stated that “despite the allocation of crores” by the AAP government, Mohalla Clinics remained in a “pathetic condition.”
The revamped Arogya Mandirs will offer a range of healthcare services, including pregnancy and newborn care, outpatient services, and diagnosis and treatment of communicable and non-communicable diseases, according to officials familiar with the matter.
The Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics were launched on July 19, 2015, as a primary healthcare initiative under the AAP government. While the original plan envisioned 1,000 clinics, only around 500 were set up.
The initiative, however, faced multiple controversies. In one of the most high-profile allegations, Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into claims that Mohalla Clinics had prescribed fake diagnostic tests to benefit private laboratories.
Also Read: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta Announces New Cabinet: Check Ministers And Their Portfolios
