Some Mohalla Clinics allegedly ordered and ran lakhs of "fake" tests
The Aam Aadmi Party's flagship healthcare scheme in Delhi - Mohalla Clinics - is in the spotlight over allegations of "fake" lab tests.
The neighbourhood clinics, central to AAP's welfare model, have been set up by the Delhi government to provide free primary health care to the people of the capital.
On a recommendation from Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, the Centre has ordered a CBI probe into allegations of fake lab tests and ghost patients at seven of these clinics.
What Are The Allegations?
Some Mohalla Clinics allegedly ordered and ran lakhs of "fake" pathology and radiology tests on non-existent patients, sources claim.
According to the allegations, the clinics were involved in irregularities worth hundreds of crores of rupees, sources said. Lakhs of fake pathology and radiology tests were ordered on "ghost" patients, it has been alleged.
Reports also claimed "grave" fraudulent practices were prevalent in the lab tests being done in the name of patients visiting Delhi government hospitals and Mohalla Clinics with payments being made to private labs, officials said.
"Fake and non-existent mobile numbers were used to register patients," the office of the Delhi Lt Governor said. Phone numbers were also duplicated and payments were made to private labs referred to by the Mohalla Clinics, it is alleged by sources.
"It is indicative of a scam running in hundreds of crores (of rupees). Saxena had issued these directions while clearing a file about the extension of lab testing services to private parties for patients visiting the Mohalla Clinics and Delhi government hospitals in December 2022," an official was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.
The Delhi government's Vigilance and Health Departments investigated the lab tests that were outsourced to private diagnostic centres.
What BJP Said
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi slammed the AAP government over the allegations. "The Delhi government had made arrangements for pathological tests at the so-called Mohalla Clinics. However, the clinics have come under a cloud of suspicion after the vigilance department reports and department findings came out," he said.
What AAP Said
AAP has strongly defended its welfare scheme and has demanded that the Delhi health secretary, who reports to the central government, be sacked.
Addressing a press conference, Delhi Health Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said his government had last year de-empanelled several doctors and staffers at Mohalla Clinics over wrongdoings.
"The Mohalla Clinic is an individual entity and not a massive set-up. We brought in a video application system to record the attendance of the staff. Now some disgraceful doctors took advantage of this. We fired 26 people - seven doctors and their staff who helped them," Mr Bharadwaj said.
Delhi Minister Atishi added: "Mohalla clinics are a clean and well-maintained setup where medicines are given free to every person. The BJP-led Centre is trying to destroy Delhi's world-class health model. How is it being done? By levelling false allegations and initiating fake inquiries."
The controversy comes days after reports of substandard medicines being supplied to Delhi's state-run hospitals surfaced.