An Audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Delhi government’s “Public Health Infrastructure and Management of Health Services’, exposed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) health model pointing to various irregularities and discrepancies in the Mohalla Clinics, Ayush dispensaries as well as gross mismanagement during the COVID-19.
The audit report is yet to be tabled in Delhi Assembly, revealing that 21 AAP Mohalla Clinics did not have toilets, 12 were not accessible for the disabled, 31 did not have sufficient drug storage space and 10 lacked drinking water facilities.
In Ayush dispensaries 17 of the 49 dispensaries had no power back up, seven had no toilets and 14 did not had facilities of drinking water.
The CAG report further indicates that 70 per cent of patients received less than one minute of consultation at Mohalla Clinics between October 2022 and March 2023. Further, out of the required 11,191 inspections of 218 clinics from March 2018 to March 2023, only 175 were carried out.
The report found that between 2016 and 2023, the Directorate General Health Service (DGHS) failed to effectively utilize its allocated budget for mohalla clinics, a flagship healthcare initiative of the AAP government.
The report finds that the government missed its own target of setting up 1,000 clinics by March 31, 2017, managing to establish only 523 by March 31, 2023.
The AAP government had aimed to establish 1,000 mohalla clinics by March 31, 2017, but only 523 were operational as of March 31, 2023.
Additionally, 41 out of 218 clinics in four selected districts were found to be non-functional for periods ranging from 15 days to nearly two years due to the de-empanelment, resignation, or leave of doctors.
The audit also flagged critical shortages of basic medical equipment such as pulse oximeters, glucometers, thermometers, and blood pressure machines in several clinics. Of the 165 essential drugs listed, none of the 74 inspected mohalla clinics had full availability.
A performance audit of Primary Health Care in Delhi from 2016-17 to 2021-22 reveals that the Directorate General Health Service (DGHS) could only spend ?9.78 crore — just 28 per cent of the allotted ?35.16 crore — on constructing Primary Health Centres.
The audit highlighted overall deficiencies in the planning and implementation of the Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinic (AAMC) project, noting savings ranging from 31.44 per cent (2022-23) to 86.36 per cent (2018-19).
Launched in 2015, Mohalla Clinics have been a flagship initiative of the previous AAP-led government but have since been dogged by controversies.
Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena ordered a CBI probe into alleged fake diagnostic tests at these clinics, suggesting potential financial gains for private laboratories.
