AAP and BJP spar as Delhi govt orders closure of 170 mohalla clinics

Last week, HT had reported that the state programme officer of Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs) under the Delhi health department has issued an order to mohalla clinics, informing them that these facilities are set to close down.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday criticised the Delhi government’s order on closure of 170 mohalla clinics in the Capital.

AAP on Sunday criticised the Delhi government’s order (File photo)

“Kejriwal had warned during the elections — that if the BJP came to power these units will be closed. On average, each clinic serves between 100 to 200 patients a day, which means about 20,000 patients will now be affected daily,” Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj said.

In a response, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva Sachdeva slammed the “scams committed by the AAP government under the guise of Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics”.

Last week, HT had reported that the state programme officer of Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs) under the Delhi health department has issued an order to mohalla clinics, informing them that these facilities are set to close down.

BJP’s Sachdeva said that these centres, opened either in roadside porta cabins or in rooms rented at exorbitant rates from AAP volunteers, functioned only as half-day OPD centres, which the Kejriwal government used as a medium for corruption.

“Most of these clinics did not even have doctors; they were run by compounders and lacked any kind of diagnostic facilities. They became centres of fraud — registering fake patients using the same phone number and misappropriating money in the name of fake diagnostic tests,” he alleged.

Sachdeva further said that Rekha Gupta’s BJP government is now opening Ayushman Arogya Mandirs in government premises, equipped with full basic medical testing facilities, doctors, and paramedical staff.

“Delhi government has already opened several Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, and the target is to open a total of 1,100 Arogya Mandirs by April 2026,” he said.