NEW DELHI: As Delhi prepares for the swearing-in of its Chief Minister-designate Rekha Gupta, the city’s bureaucratic machinery is all set to roll out central health schemes and extend a key initiative to all residents.
According to an exclusive document accessed by TNIE, the health department has drafted a proposal to rebrand the Aam Aadmi Party's flagship Mohalla Clinics as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. In addition, the government aims to enroll the first one lakh beneficiaries under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. The proposals are expected to get passed in the first cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday.
The document outlines that eligible families will receive annual health insurance coverage under the Ayushman scheme, while senior citizens above 70 years of age will be issued a Vay Vandana Card.
Officials have confirmed that the selection process for beneficiaries will be based on data from the National Family Health Survey and the Socio-Economic and Caste Census of 2011.
Officials indicated a potential increase in the existing health insurance coverage from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh for Delhi residents.
Additionally, the government is set to expand the reach of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers beyond slum areas and unauthorized colonies to affluent neighbourhoods and gated communities. To facilitate this expansion, a proposal to increase the ASHA workforce will be submitted to the Centre, officials told this newspaper.
The health department has also laid out a plan to upgrade existing Mohalla Clinics into Urban Arogya Ayushman Mandirs under the Ayushman Bharat Infrastructure Mission Scheme (PM-BHIM). The target is to establish 1,139 such centres, including the conversion of 553 existing Mohalla Clinics and the construction of 413 new ones.
Furthermore, each district in Delhi will have 11 model Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, and the initiative will extend to dispensaries under both the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
To ensure a swift rollout, district officials have been instructed to identify government lands and buildings for setting up these primary health centres. The department has set a deadline of 30 days post-cabinet approval to implement the new initiatives.