In a fresh faceoff between the Union Health Ministry and Punjab government, the former has accused the latter of allegedly branding the Ayushman Bharat–Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) into Aam Aadmi clinics, popularly referred to as mohalla clinics. In a letter accessed by CNBC-TV18, the health ministry has stated that Punjab has vitiated the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state and Centre.
The Health Ministry has warned the state government that it will stop allocating funds under the scheme if the Punjab government is found to be violating the terms.
"The state has violated the provisions of Clause 10.3 and 10.10 of MoU and have stopped implementing the AB-HWC component of NHM, therefore releases to the State under NHM do not appear feasible as per provisions of Clause 13 of the MOU," said Roli Singh, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Health Mission (NHM) in the letter.
The health ministry reportedly wrote to the Punjab government recently saying that it would be "improper" to deviate from the terms of the MoU.
“You are hereby advised to ensure to ensure façade branding of all AB-HWCs in rural and urban areas, where healthcare services are being provided with support from NHM and updated in AB-HWC portal," Singh added.
In 2018, all states had been instructed about the branding, colour and coding to be used for the health scheme.
As per the letter, Punjab has been allocated Rs 1,114 crore in 2022-23 under the scheme and in the prior fiscal, it had received Rs 145 crore under the same scheme.
AAP, which came to power in Punjab last year, had recently launched 400 more Aam Aadmi clinics in the state, taking the total number of the neighbourhood clinics to 500.
