56 more Mohalla Clinics in Delhi to go on stream soon

NEW DELHI: A month after Lieutenant-General Anil Baijal cleared the proposal, the Delhi government is ready to start 56 more Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics as 41 of these clinics are in the process of getting electricity connections. The sources said that by October-end, the works are likely to complete in these clinics.

"The clinics were ready on time but the problem with electricity connection delayed the work. But, we have overcome the problem and 41 of these clinics will get the connection very soon," an official said.

He added that the remaining clinics will also get the connection by this month. The department started work for setting up 450 Mohalla Clinics by this year. Nearly 250 of these clinics will be made inside government school premises. After getting approval from the L-G to set up new Mohalla Clinics, the Delhi government's Health and Family Welfare department, led by Satyendar Jain, began formulating plans to build the new clinics.

The department is targeting each area of the city for the new clinics. A pet project of the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi government's target has been to build more than 1,000 clinics across the city. According to Delhi government sources, the first target will be underdeveloped areas of the national Capital.

The official said that these 56 clinics are also mostly in the underdeveloped areas. According to sources to build up new clinics the government were facing issues regarding the lands. After the help from the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) regarding lands the department is likely to first-track the making. The DJB has approved setting up of 348 Mohalla clinics in its locations, during its 132nd Board meeting, headed by the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The sources said that the arrangements of the medicines and others item are going on for these clinics.

"We are waiting for the electricity and till that time we are keeping every other thing ready so that we can start these clinics immediately," he said. Seemapuri, Gandhinagar, Gokalpur, Rohtas Nagar, Ghonda, Shahdara are the some of the areas where these clinics are situated.

However, according to reports, there were also issues with the doctor's recruitment in these clinics. The list of doctors and the allied staffs are reportedly not been confirmed in these places.

The department is hopeful that with no time they will overcome the issues of electricity, land and others to build up more clinics and reach their target.