Ayushman Arogya Mandirs inaugurated in city, CM pledges better health infrastructure

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday asserted that her government wants to make the national capital best in terms of health infrastructure as she inaugurated an Ayushman Arogya Mandir here to deliver comprehensive primary health care. At the inauguration event at Tis Hazari, Gupta also hit out at the previous AAP dispensation and alleged that mohalla clinics run by them were "corruption hubs". "Corruption was committed in the name of outsourcing of tests. There was corruption in taking space for the clinics on rent," she charged.

Gupta said the Centre had allocated Rs 2,400 crore to the previous government for opening of over 1,100 Ayushman Mandirs but those funds were not utilised. "Those funds will lapse by March. The previous government did not use the funds. We have to build these Ayushman Mandirs by March next year so that the funds do not get lapsed. The work that should have been done in five years, we will have to do it in much less time," she added. The chief minister said the government is working towards making Delhi the best in terms of health infrastructure. "We want to ensure that no one should lose their life because of lack of proper treatment," she added.

According the the standards set by the World Health Organisation, there should be two beds per 1,000 people. "There are 0.42 beds in Delhi for 1,000 people. It means that there is not even one bed available for 1,000 people. We are working on a target of having three beds for 1,000 people," she added. Thirty-three Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and 17 Jan Aushadhi Kendras were inaugurated across the national capital by ministers here. Ayushman Arogya Mandirs is a component of the Union government's Ayushman Bharat initiative. After the BJP came to power in Delhi, its government signed an MoU with the Centre earlier this month to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) in the city, fulfilling a major poll promise of the party. At the event, the chief minister also urged lawyers not to deface walls with posters. "Posters are seen pasted around courts. I request you to not deface the walls. Please remove these posters," she said.