21 Mohalla Clinics did not have toilet, 15 did not had power backup: CAG report on Delhi's healthcare model tabled

Delhi assembly

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday tabled the CAG report on 'Public Health Infrastructure & Management of Health Services', exposing the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government's shortcomings.

A recent audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has shed light reality behind Delhi's mohalla clinics, launched by AAP. According to the report, 70 percent of patients were given consultations lasting less than a minute, and a shocking 18 percent clinics were rendered non-operational, with 41 out of 2918 clinics closed during audit due to chronic doctor shortages and other administrative issues, according to a report by Times of India.

Furthermore, at least 74 clinics failed to maintain stocks of critical drugs, leaving patients without the basics. The CAG report is based on the status of government hospitals and health services (2024) and highlights the difference there is between the claims made by the previous government and the ground reality.

The CAG report accessed by CNN-News18 stated that 21 Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics did not have toilets, 15 did not have a power backup six did not have any table for check-ups and 12 did not have accessibility for the physically disabled. In AYUSH dispensaries, 17 of the 49 inspected dispensaries had no power backup, seven had no toilets and 14 had no facility for drinking water.

Further, the CAG report also flagged underutilization of funds received under the 'Emergency Covid-19 Response Plan'. The report reveals that only Rs 582.84 crore of the Rs 787.91 crore provided by the Centre for tackling Covid-19 was used by the Delhi government, with a substantial Rs 83.14 crore out of Rs 119.85 crore earmarked for drugs and supplies, including PPE and masks, remaining unspent.

Ahead of the tabling, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa had said, "Another CAG report of Arvind Kejriwal's corruption will be tabled in Delhi Assembly today. How he looted Delhi in the name of hospitals and health services...How there was no power supply in mohalla clinics...The pages of the CAG report will say that Arvind Kejriwal is 'kattar beimaan'."

Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Singh had said, "The previous government was making big claims about health services, but the reality is something else. Everything will be revealed in the CAG report."

The Delhi Assembly session will go on till March 1 as it was extended by two days.

CAG report on liquor policy
Earlier on Tuesday, a CAG report ‘Performance Audit on Liquor Supply in Delhi’ was tabled in the Assembly. It showed that the Delhi government suffered cumulative losses of over Rs 2,000 crore due to the 2021-2022 excise policy for reasons ranging from weak policy framework to deficient implementation.

The report further mentions that ineligible firms were allowed to participate in the tendering process (In what is now withdrawn Delhi Excise Policy) and previous AAP government did not provide any file for auditing.
The report, one of 14 on the previous Aam Aadmi Party government’s performance to be tabled by the new Rekha Gupta-led dispensation, also flagged violations in the process of issuing licences.

The BJP has alleged that the CAG reports will reveal the ‘black deeds’ of the previous AAP government in the national capital.