The Union health ministry is likely to stop the funding for Ayushman Bharat – Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) in Punjab as the state government is allegedly trying to convert them to mohalla clinics, a flagship project of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, according to officials familiar with the matter.
Close to 150,000 AB-HWCs have been set up across the country, with a 60:40 contribution ratio by the Centre and state, under the central government-sponsored Ayushman Bharat scheme. Based on the MoU signed between the Centre and states, the state governments are required to adhere to certain guidelines, including those pertaining to branding, formulated by the Centre while running these clinics, the officials said.
They alleged the Punjab government has been violating the operational guidelines.
In a letter to the Punjab government on February 6, the ministry said the state “defaulted” on its commitment by branding AB-HWCs as ‘Aam Aadmi Clinics’ and did not adhere to provisions of the MoU on the implementation of the scheme.
“The state has violated the provisions of Clause 10.3 and 10.10 of MoU and has stopped implementing the AB-HWC component of NHM (National Health Mission), therefore releases to the State under NHM do not appear feasible as per provisions of Clause 13 of the MOU,” the letter signed by Roli Singh, additional secretary and mission director, National Health Mission (NHM), said.
“The state has also executed a MoU with the government of India as per NHM framework which mandates compliance of guidelines issued under NHM by the state. However, it is seen that the State is still not complying with the branding requirements in case of PHC-HWCs in urban and rural areas…,” it added.
“What the state government is promoting really is their own project which they should fund themselves,” a government official said, seeking anonymity.
Punjab health minister Balbir Singh dismissed the allegation and said there was no question of misutilisation of funds as funds meant for health are being spent for that purpose.
“As far as the health services in rural areas are concerned, the Aam Aadmi Clinics have raised the standard of health services in the hinterlands,” he said.
He said the Centre should visit these clinics and watch the state’s model to implement it across the country. “Moreover, health is a state subject and the Centre should not interfere in that,” he said.
