Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta reaffirmed her government’s commitment to transforming the national capital’s healthcare infrastructure as she inaugurated an Ayushman Arogya Mandir in Tis Hazari, aimed at delivering comprehensive primary health services to citizens.
During the inauguration, Gupta strongly criticized the previous AAP administration, accusing it of corruption in the management of the now-defunct mohalla clinics. She alleged that corruption had taken place under the guise of outsourcing diagnostic tests and securing rented spaces for these clinics. “The mohalla clinics were corruption hubs,” she stated, claiming that funds meant for healthcare development were misused.
Gupta revealed that the Centre had allocated ₹2,400 crore to the previous government for establishing over 1,100 Ayushman Mandirs. However, these funds remained largely unutilized. “The funds will lapse by March if not used. We have to complete the construction of these Ayushman Mandirs before March next year. What should have been accomplished over five years, we now have to achieve in a much shorter time frame,” she emphasized.
The chief minister stressed her administration’s objective of making Delhi a national leader in healthcare infrastructure. “We want to ensure that no one loses their life due to the unavailability of proper treatment,” Gupta said.
On Tuesday, a total of 33 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and 17 Jan Aushadhi Kendras were inaugurated across the city as part of the broader expansion of healthcare facilities. Ayushman Arogya Mandirs are part of the Union government’s Ayushman Bharat initiative. The Delhi government, after coming to power under BJP, recently signed an MoU with the Centre to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) in the capital, fulfilling one of its key electoral promises.
At the event, Gupta also appealed to lawyers to refrain from pasting posters around court premises, urging them to maintain cleanliness and remove existing posters defacing public walls.