The Union Health Ministry said that the Punjab government is converting Ayushman Bharat health and wellness centres into Mohalla clinics which is a pet project of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The ministry has warned to stop the amount given for the scheme. Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centers (AB-HWCs) have a 60:40 collaboration between the Center and the State.
In a letter to the state government on February 6, the ministry said the state government violated the spirit of the scheme and reneged on its commitment by ‘branding’ ‘AB-HWCs’ as common man clinics. The ministry said that the state government did not stick to the provisions of the memorandum regarding the implementation of the scheme.
“The state violated the provisions of Clause 10.3 and 10.10 of the MoU and stopped implementing AB-HWC, part of the National Health Mission (NHM),” Roli Singh, additional secretary and director of the mission, NHM, said in the letter. The health ministry official said Rs 1,114 crore was given to Punjab in 2022-23 under the scheme.
[…] Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in a tweet in Punjabi, expressed sorrow and pain at the incident and said all possible help will be provided . The Punjab government also announced Rs2 lakh as compensation for families of the dead, and Rs50,000 as compensation for those hospitalised. […]