Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta on Monday said that he has written to Chief Minister Atishi, demanding implementation of the Central government’s “Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission” (PM-ABHIM) scheme in the national capital.
According to him, as part of the scheme 1,139 public health centers, testing labs, and CCUs for critical care were to be established in Delhi’s 11 districts. He claimed that the Delhi government did not use Rs. 2,406 crore provided by the Centre for these facilities, with the national capital only being the only place in the country that has not benefited from this scheme.
He accused the AAP government in Delhi of deliberately not implementing the central health scheme, and has written to the CM for its swift implementation for the benefit of people. He demanded that the CM must implement this scheme immediately or else (BJP) will not remain silent and will start a movement to ensure its implementation, as it is for the benefit of the city’s residents.
He said that while all other states have fully utilized the scheme, Delhi was allocated Rs. 2,406 crore, which was supposed to establish 1,139 public health centers, 11 public health labs, 10 critical care blocks, four government hospitals with 100-bed critical care units, and five ICUs with 50 beds each in government medical colleges across Delhi’s 11 districts. However, due to the state government’s alleged delays, this scheme has been pending since 2021.
He claimed that the AAP government outsourced lab services in Delhi’s public hospitals, awarding contracts to a favoured private company to facilitate alleged corruption.