Chandigarh: The Central Government has threatened to stop the funds of Ayushman Bharat Scheme, accusing it of investing funds in Aam Aadmi Clinics (Mohalla clinics).
The Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday that the Punjab government is converting Ayushman Bharat health centers into mohalla clinics. Significantly, mohalla clinics are the prime project of the Aam Aadmi Party. In Punjab, it has been named Aam Aadmi Clinic.
The central government had also written a letter to the Punjab government on February 6 on the issue. In it, the ministry said that the state has destroyed the spirit of the scheme.
At the same time, by branding Anshuman centres as Aam Aadmi Clinic, it has violated its commitment. The letter also said that Punjab was not complying with the provisions for implementation of the scheme.
According to information received from sources, about 3029 sub-health centers, primary health centers and urban health centers in Punjab have been converted into Aam Aadmi Clinics.
NHM Additional Secretary and Mission Director Roli Singh said in the letter that the state has violated the provisions of clauses 10.3 and 10.10 of the MoU of the scheme.
In such a situation, it does not seem possible to release funds to the State under NHM as per the provisions of Section 13 of the Act.
The Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre (HWC) scheme has been prepared with a centre-state ratio of 60:40, a top health ministry official said.
If a state changes the scheme during implementation, the funds released from the Centre will be stopped. The letter had asked Punjab to stop violating the guidelines and ensure branding as per the guidelines issued earlier by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.