Delhi to get 1,140 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs by March 2026: CM Gupta
New Delhi: In a sweeping overhaul of Delhi’s primary healthcare network, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday announced that 1,140 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs) will be established across the city by March 2026. The announcement came during the city-wide launch of 33 new AAMs and 17 Jan Aushadhi Kendras, as Gupta vowed to transform Delhi’s healthcare infrastructure while launching a scathing attack on the previous AAP-led administration.
Unveiling the new facilities at an event in Tis Hazari, the chief minister said her government was racing against time to utilise a Rs 2,400 crore grant sanctioned by the Centre back in 2020. “We have to finish building all the Ayushman Mandirs by March next year, or else the funds will lapse. What could have been done in the last five years now has to be done in just eight months,” Gupta remarked.
Gupta blamed the previous government for ignoring the central grant, accusing it of allowing healthcare projects to stall over “ego and misunderstanding.” “The then government did not let the people of Delhi benefit from the facilities due to ego. When we came to power, we decided to make sure that every penny of the Rs.2,400 crore is used for the people,” she said.
The Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, key to the Union government’s Ayushman Bharat health initiative will serve as neighborhood health centers providing 12 essential services and in-house lab testing. Gupta emphasized that the new facilities will be permanent and fully equipped, unlike the earlier Mohalla Clinics, which she criticized as inadequate and corrupt. “Mohalla Clinics turned into corruption spots,” she alleged. “Temporary porta cabins were set up by the roadside. Officers were paid Rs.40 per patient, do you think they focused on healthcare or on patient headcount? Medicines weren’t available, tests were outsourced, and crores were looted in the name of healthcare.” She further accused the previous government of paying inflated rents for clinics, saying some turned into shelters for cattle and addicts. “This is not how healthcare should function,” Gupta said.
Cabinet ministers, MPs, and MLAs were deployed across the city to simultaneously inaugurate the newly launched AAMs and Jan Aushadhi Kendras. Cabinet Minister Parvesh Verma inaugurated a centre at Babar Road, while Kapil Mishra and Ashish Sood launched centres in Khajuri Khas and Janakpuri respectively. MPs Manoj Tiwari and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri also led inaugurations in Yamuna Vihar and Tughlaqabad.
The Jan Aushadhi Kendras will sell affordable medicines, adding another layer to the BJP-led government’s push for accessible healthcare. “The aim is to reduce the financial burden on families while also increasing healthcare access,” Gupta said.
The chief minister also laid out her larger vision for Delhi’s health infrastructure, citing WHO standards that recommend two hospital beds per 1,000 people. “Delhi currently has only 0.42 beds per 1,000. We are targeting three beds per 1,000 people. We want to ensure no one dies due to lack of treatment,” she asserted. Ending her address, Gupta urged lawyers to help in civic cleanliness. “Posters are seen pasted around courts. I request you to not deface the walls. Please remove these posters,” she said. With the Ayushman Bharat scheme finally taking root in Delhi after the MoU signed earlier this month, Gupta’s administration has set an ambitious deadline, and a pointed political tone, in its bid to reshape the Capital’s healthcare landscape.
