Delhi: Mohalla Clinics May get a Shot in the Arm

The AAP manifesto in 2015 and the promises it enlisted were like a holy book, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had maintained before polls. But with more than half of their term over, promises such as creating 1,000 mohalla clinics are not even close to completion. The problem, AAP has claimed, was interference from the L-G. The challenge now will be to make up for lost time as the party prepares for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, with health as a key poll plank. “The mohalla clinic idea was one of many we wanted to bring to decentralize the medical sector and make it more transparent,” said an AAP leader. There are 164 mohalla clinics, and schemes such as upgradation of hospital infrastructure and creating new beds are priority for the AAP government.

In August 2016, the Delhi Cabinet had sent a proposal to establish the Delhi Healthcare Corporation Ltd as a public limited company under the Companies Act. “The aim was to provide clinical, non-clinical, administrative and support services. These include centralized procurement of drugs and equipment, setting up and running of laboratory services,” said an official, adding that similar bodies existed in Kerala and Rajasthan. The file was submitted in September 2015. The Delhi government’s August 2016 Cabinet nod to set up 1345 Jan Swasthya Samitis at each hospital or dispensary level is also stuck, claimed officials. – Indian Express