According to officials familiar with the matter, the Union Health Ministry is likely to halt funding for Ayushman Bharat – Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) in Punjab because the state government is allegedly attempting to convert them to mohalla clinics, a flagship project of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi.
Under the central government-sponsored Ayushman Bharat scheme, about 150,000 AB-HWCs have been established across the country, with a 60:40 contribution ratio between the Centre and the states. According to the Agreement signed between the Centre and the states, the state governments are expected to follow specific standards, including those pertaining to branding, specified by the Centre when conducting these clinics.
They said that the Punjabi government had been flouting the rules of conduct.
The ministry said in a letter sent to the Punjab government on February 6 that the state had “defaulted” on its pledge by calling AB-HWCs “Aam Aadmi Clinics” and had not followed the terms of the MoU for the implementation of the programme.
Releases to the State under NHM (National Health Mission) do not appear feasible as per provisions of Clause 13 of the MOU, according to a letter signed by Roli Singh, additional secretary and mission director, National Health Mission (NHM). “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),” the letter stated.
“The state has also negotiated an MoU with the government of India as per NHM framework which enforces compliance of guidelines published under NHM by the state. However, it is clear that the State is still unable to meet the branding requirements for PHC-HWCs in urban and rural areas…,” it noted.
“What the state administration is supporting is their own project, which they should fund themselves,” an anonymous government official stated.
Punjab health minister Balbir Singh refuted the accusation, saying there was no misappropriation of cash because funds designated for health were spent for that reason.
“The Aam Aadmi Clinics have enhanced the grade of health services in the hinterlands,” he added of the rural health facilities.
He recommended that the Center visit these clinics and observe the state’s model in order to spread it across the nation. Furthermore, he added, “health is a state matter, and the Centre should not meddle in that.”
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